BEIJING, April 13 -- "The global catering industry is promoting a healthier, more nutritious diet and this is the very advantage for our Chinese foods," a general manager of a Guangdong-based fast food chain store told reporters recently when he canceled four types of deep-fried food from his list.

    Cai Dabiao, general manager of the Zhengongfu Fast Food Restaurant in Guangdong, recently scrubbed four oily foods from his menu list, saying that he would no longer make any such deep-fried foods in future and would focus on promoting a healthy diet.

    Information from the Fast Food Committee of the Chinese Cookery Association showed that in 2004, Chinese fast food chain stores had reached 800,000 and generated 180 billion yuan of revenue every year, accounting for 27% of the total revenue in the nation¡¯s catering industry. Chinese fast food industry has developed at a fast speed with an annual increasing rate reaching 20%.

    Some experts predict that China will follow the path of developed countries and fast food will become a major part of people's diet consumption. In light of this, the healthy development of fast food industry will play an important role in people's dieting structure.

    In 2005, China issued its first report on "Changes of Chinese People's Dieting and Nutritious Status", which said that Chinese people's dieting structure was gradually changing into a mode that would render them liable to certain chronic diseases, and Chinese people were eating more fatty and high-calorie foods than before.

    In light of this, Professor Su Yixiang from the Zhongshan University in Guangdong province said irrational dieting structure and unscientific cooking methods were the causative factors for some chronic diseases, and a more diversified food structure with grains, and cooking food at moderate temperature are all effective ways to avoid chronic diseases.

    To Cai Dabiao, Chinese fast foods are better than Western fast foods in two aspects: firstly, Chinese foods are rich in sources and focus on grains, beans, and vegetables; secondly, traditional Chinese cooking is done at low temperatures and the foods are usually boiled in water instead of deep frying, and foods are usually done in a short time through stir-frying. In this way, cooking temperature will not exceed 100 degrees Centigrade, and most of the nutrition elements in the foods will be stored.

    Some experts say that nowadays, due to rising living standards, consumers pay more attention to their health and are willing to spend more for their health. Promoting Chinese fast food should begin with Chinese food culture. Only if more and more people are familiar with the Chinese food culture will they understand more about Chinese fast food.

    (Source: Chinanews.cn)