A youth think tank on Friday revealed that more than 90 percent of diners in a survey found it difficult to tell whether dishes served up by restaurants had been freshly cooked or pre-made, with most calling for mandatory labelling to restore trust.

The finding came following a survey by a think tank, run by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, to gauge the expectations and understanding of dishes served up to diners.

The report is based on a survey conducted between December and February of 800 locals aged between 18 and 64, along with interviews with 13 individuals and seven experts, scholars and industry practitioners.

It found that 91.3 percent of respondents struggled to distinguish pre-made dishes – that is, those that have been merely reheated or cooked from packaged food or require just a few steps to get them ready to be served up – from freshly cooked dishes.

Around 83.3 percent want eateries to clearly mark out those dishes that they have "fully prepared" while 64 percent still expect all dishes to be cooked to order when they go to a restaurant.

The deputy convenor of the society and livelihood group at the think tank, Vivian Lai, said it was becoming difficult for people to distinguish freshly prepared food by relying on just their taste buds and the appearance of the dishes since technological advancements had made the two virtually indistinguishable to some people.

The diners' concerns about pre-made dishes centre around their lack of the “wok hei” – or the smoky charred aroma of Chinese food plated fresh off the wok – and their abundance of additives and ensuing bad flavour, texture and freshness.

"We found that 83.3 percent of our respondents believe that restaurants should indicate their use of pre-made dishes, while 79.9 percent think such dishes should be priced lower than cooked-to-order ones," Lai said.

She also noted that while 42.5 percent would lose confidence if restaurants failed to disclose their use of pre-made dishes, 49 percent would still visit a restaurant as long as their use of such dishes was made clear to customers.

The report also cited food and beverage experts as saying that labour shortages and high costs were the main drivers behind eateries opting for the pre-made option.

The think tank has three suggestions: develop an official voluntary certification scheme to indicate use of prepared dishes; formulate practical guidelines under the Trade Description Ordinance to pinpoint non-compliance scenarios; and enhance consumer understanding through public education with government-produced materials and community-based programmes in place.



Edited by Tony Sabine