“This store is very close to the subway, and I often come in when I come back from get off work. Although many foods are already due, they have a lot of discounts compared to regular-priced products, and there are many categories, which is very cost-effective.” Like Zhang Ling (pseudonym) ) In this way, many young people come into the store to choose their favorite discounted food at will.
“Now some post-90s and post-00s don’t mind the expiry date of food, because they are within the shelf life and the price is still cheap.” The shopkeeper told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that the store has been open for nearly two years, and the business has been surviving. Yes, most repeat customers are young office workers.
“With discounted prices, you can eat delicious food without discounts”?
In recent years, with the rapid development of the temporary food industry, shops specializing in temporary food under the name of “imported food discount stores” have begun to appear on the streets. Most of the temporary foods have passed 2/3 of the shelf life and are getting closer to the shelf life. The greater the discount of the product.
The enthusiasm of some young people for the consumption of impending food has given birth to the emergence of new business formats in the offline impending food market, and many young people are “wrapping wool” online. After entering “provisional food” in multiple e-commerce platforms, reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily found that there are many special online stores specializing in temporary food with the words “naked price” and “discount”. Different types of packaged foods are available for order purchase; you can also search for a variety of applications and WeChat applets dedicated to online shopping for temporary foods on your mobile phone.
In some social platforms and communities related to temporary food, tens of thousands of members are sharing their shopping experiences. For example, the “I love temporary food” group on Douban website has been established in September last year, and the number of members has continued to increase. There are currently more than 70,000. “Use discounted prices to eat delicious food without discounts” has become the reason for these young people to choose impending food.
How big is the potential of the impending food market?
According to the “Cold Knowledge Report on Temporary Consumption” released by Taobao and Popular Science China, 2.1 million people select temporary food on Taobao platform every year. IiMedia Consulting’s “2020 China’s Tentative Food Industry Market Analysis and Consumer Research Report” released in January this year shows that from the supply side, the total output value of China’s snack food industry in 2020 will exceed 3 trillion yuan, even if it is 1% According to the calculation of inventory precipitation, the market size of the temporary food industry will also exceed 30 billion yuan. At present, 47.8% of China’s temporary food consumers are 26 to 35 years old, and young people have become the main buying force.
In fact, temporary food is not a “new” business. Among the many temporary food stores on the e-commerce platform, some stores have been in operation for up to 5 years. But with the emergence of more and more impending foods, its market value has gradually been further explored. Especially after the epidemic, many large offline temporary food discount brand stores represented by Hao Special Sale and Little Elephant Life continued to expand in a chain manner, and the number of small temporary food discount stores operated by individuals continued to increase.
Guarding the bottom line of impending food safety
The popularity of online and offline ad hoc food sales has also made many people see business opportunities. As a result, more and more businesses have poured into this market. The issue of food safety at the end of the period has also attracted more and more attention.
According to Sun Juanjuan, a researcher at the Center for Collaborative Innovation in Food Safety Governance at Renmin University of China, temporary foods are foods that are about to reach the food shelf life but are still within the shelf life. In terms of standards, they are safe foods, but there may be irregular management in the sales process. Such problems are prone to security risks and consumer disputes.
The “Anti-Food Waste Law of the People’s Republic of China” (hereinafter referred to as the Anti-Food Waste Law) formally implemented on April 29 this year specifically mentioned that food operators should categorize and manage foods that are approaching their expiration date, and make special labels or centralized display and sale.
However, reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily found that not all large-scale supermarkets have implemented this regulation; some large-scale supermarkets have specially set up shelves marked as “near shelf life food zone”. , But at the same time, there is also the phenomenon of mixing some impending foods with non-period foods in other general promotion areas; although some large supermarkets have set up special areas for impending foods, they use “discounts” and “specials.” Avoid the words “prompt food” in other signs.
In this regard, Sun Juanjuan believes that the Anti-Food Waste Law has clearly stipulated the requirements for “categorized management”, “special labeling” and “centralized display and sale” of impending foods. In other words, businesses must allow consumers to sell impending foods. Under the premise of guaranteeing the right to know, purchase clearly and plainly. Otherwise, once some impending foods are mixed in the general promotion area, it is very likely that the supermarket management staff did not check and sort them in time, resulting in overdue food sales problems.
The regular price of imported food itself is relatively high, so whether it is in online or offline temporary food specialty stores, temporary imported food is also popular among young people. However, the reporter found in an imported food discount store that although a candy with the country of origin “Ukraine” was marked with the production date and expiration date in the Russian product information, the Chinese label lacked the corresponding logo.
According to the relevant provisions of my country’s Food Safety Law, imported food should be inspected by my country’s entry-exit inspection and quarantine agency in accordance with the law, and after passing the inspection, a Chinese label should be added to the outer packaging, indicating the origin of the food and the name, address, and contact information of the domestic agent. Only then can it enter the domestic market for sales. Sun Juanjuan believes that the lack of the production date on the Chinese label violates consumers’ right to know the goods. If consumers find that they can reasonably protect their rights through legitimate channels, this is a right granted to consumers by law.
It is understood that the supply of temporary food currently mainly comes from the suppliers or distributors of large supermarkets. Once the large supermarkets return the temporary food to the distributor, the temporary food will experience the new “large distributor—large second-hand stocker—several small middlemen—physical temporary food discounter—consumer”. Multiple circulation links. On some social networking sites and short video sites, some “upper” UP owners often share their sales experience. In the WeChat groups established by many middlemen, there are many information on the sale of impending food.
Faced with such a multi-linked circulation chain, is there any change in the production date of impending food under the pressure of the “term”? In this regard, many consumers can’t help but doubt it. Although in interviews, some temporary food suppliers denied this on the grounds that the price of many temporary foods is a few cents in itself, and the high cost of changing the date is not worthwhile, but some people feel that with the continuous expansion of the industry, entering the industry There is a mixture of people, and after experiencing such a “three-and-four” impending food, there is no denying that there may be such a risk.
In this regard, Sun Juanjuan said that the behavior of merchants tampering with the production date is not a new food safety issue specifically caused by temporary foods, but in temporary food sales, this driving force may be even greater. In fact, internal industry reports and consumer complaints are all effective methods of monitoring such illegal activities. At the same time, the current food safety law, consumer rights protection law and other laws also provide relevant penalties for such issues.
Zhong Kai, director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, suggested that consumers should pay attention to the following three points when buying temporary foods: temporary foods are still within the shelf life and can be purchased and eaten with confidence; temporary foods should be purchased on demand, Don’t hoard, so as to avoid waste due to expired deterioration; the purchased impending food is best eaten within the shelf life.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Li Zhuo Source: China Youth Daily
Edition 06 on July 27, 2021
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