Shanghai launches certification for 'green' restaurants
Shanghai has launched the certification of "green" restaurants to encourage a low-carbon lifestyle and drive the city's catering industry toward eco-friendly-oriented development, local market authorities announced on Tuesday.
The city's market regulator released a group standard for green catering service certification criteria in June, based on the national and local standards on the management regulation of green restaurants.
It covers environment, energy and service quality, and involves food safety, diet health, impact on environment and recycling of resources concerning the procurement, storage, processing and service of catering businesses, according to the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation.
A five-tier grading system is implemented.
A certified restaurant
Two restaurants, Hongziji and the Harvest Festival Group, were granted certification as the first batch of such green catering service providers in the city, on Tuesday after review and evaluation.
"We have introduced quantization indexes such as the reduction of the discharge of solid wastes, the use of disposable plastic products, and energy consumption to guide catering businesses to prevent environment contamination, improve the quality of cuisines, and cut food waste, kitchen waste and the emission of smoke," said Shi Liang, deputy director of the certification supervision and management department of the administration.
The service standard also requires eateries to promote green and low-carbon concept among diners such as reminding them to order a proper amount of food, and provide degradable meal dishware and packaging.
The certificates
