Proposal on dining habits deemed outstanding

A proposal by more than 120 political advisers about an individual food-serving system during the coronavirus pandemic has won the title of outstanding proposal of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Shanghai Committee of 2020.

There were 62 outstanding proposals of 2020 awarded during this year's Two Sessions, along with 17 others winning special awards.

The proposal promoted the use of serving chopsticks and spoons at homes and restaurants to effectively prevent the risk of cross infection between people sharing dishes.

It also played a positive role in advancing and shaping a civilized and healthy dining style in the city, which can be sustainable.

Using serving tableware can also help prevent helicobacter pylori, a type of bacteria which can cause diseases such as stomach cancer.

The proposal was led by Zheng Jin, deputy Party secretary of the local health commission. 

Last year, when the city was hit by coronavirus, the commission and three other authorities took the initiative to the public about using serving chopsticks and spoons.

It was promoted on the Weibo accounts of the local government and the commission, and in the media, with postings on WeChat viewed more than 1.2 million times.

Although lots of local residents favored the initiative, political advisers found it's promotion still faced difficulties because of factors such as it being easy to mistake serving utensils with others, higher cleaning costs for restaurants and people's awareness maybe weakening after the pandemic ended.

So they called for enhanced education about such healthy dining behavior and adding related regulations.

This proposal led a "new fashion" in dining among local residents and facilitated action such as the development of a "serving fork and spoon," which can be used as either a fork or a spoon.