Food delivery services inevitably suffer from high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol levels, and there are many tricks to food delivery packaging as well.

China has approximately 860 million urban residents, consuming about 2.5 billion meals a day. Recently, some business people have predicted, based on this data, that China's food delivery market will continue to grow.

The popularity of food delivery in China is undeniable. In recent years, people have significantly increased their frequency of ordering takeout, driven by considerations of saving time and food variety. From a socioeconomic perspective, food delivery is undoubtedly a branch of the emerging consumer market fueled by the widespread adoption of the Internet of Things, e-commerce, and online payments, reflecting a form of social division of labor. However, this raises several questions worth exploring: Will food delivery become a mainstream lifestyle for Chinese people in the future? Can entrusting three meals a day to food delivery ensure healthy eating?

Can we truly trust the safety and hygiene of takeout food, and whether it meets the body's nutritional needs?

Let's first understand an often overlooked issue—lunchbox safety.

A lunchbox is an essential tool for food delivery. With the booming development of food delivery services, the demand for delivery packaging boxes and bags is increasing, and their variety is also growing. Most containers used for food delivery on the market are now made of plastic. Careful observers will notice numerical markings on these plastic boxes. What do these numbers represent? They represent different types of plastic, generally indicated by numbers 01 to 07.

01 represents polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly used to make mineral water bottles, carbonated beverage bottles, etc. This material is heat-resistant up to 70°C.

02 represents high-density polyethylene (HDPE), commonly used to make plastic containers for cleaning products, bath products, etc. It can withstand temperatures up to 110°C, and plastic bags labeled for food use can be used to hold food.

03 represents polyvinyl chloride (PVC), commonly used in building materials, and is considered a toxic plastic product. The "toxicity" mainly refers to incompletely polymerized vinyl chloride monomers from the production process, as well as harmful substances in plasticizers. These two substances are easily released when exposed to high temperatures.

04 represents low-density polyethylene (LDPE), commonly used to make cling film and other plastic wrap. It has poor heat resistance and will melt at temperatures exceeding 110℃, leaving behind some plastic residues that the human body cannot break down. Therefore, when food is wrapped in this type of cling film and heated, the oils in the food can easily dissolve harmful substances from the cling film.

05 represents polypropylene (PP), commonly used to make microwave-safe food containers. It can withstand temperatures up to 130℃ and is the only type of plastic container that can be used in a microwave. It can be reused after cleaning. It is important to note that some microwave-safe food containers are made of 05 PP for the body, but the lid is made of 06 PS. PS has good transparency but is not heat-resistant and should not be placed in the microwave along with the container.

06 represents polystyrene (PS), commonly used to make instant noodle bowls and fast food containers. It is both heat-resistant and cold-resistant. However, it cannot be placed in a microwave oven to avoid releasing chemicals due to high temperatures, and it should not be used to hold strong acids or alkalis.

07 represents other types of plastics (PC), which contain bisphenol A (BPA), which is harmful to health.

The above describes plastics from materials 01 to 07. While the information may seem technical, understanding their respective uses will clarify that only materials 02, 05, and 06—high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS)—are relatively safe for making food containers.

Are paper packaging boxes safe? Besides plastic packaging boxes used in the food service industry, paper packaging boxes are also commonly seen. Currently, there are two main types of paper containers used in takeout food. One is coated paper food containers, which have a thin layer of polyethylene plastic coating, essentially a plastic film covering the paper surface. These paper food containers can withstand temperatures of around 90℃, are suitable for both hot and cold drinks, and provide good waterproofing. Their cost is higher than plastic food containers, but the cost price is generally less than 1 yuan. Another type is aluminum foil food containers, which are of higher quality than coated paper food containers. Their raw materials are non-toxic, easy to heat, and do not produce harmful substances when heated; they are heat-resistant, reaching up to 660℃; they are easy to seal, have strong barrier properties, and protect the original flavor of food and extend its shelf life; they are also highly recyclable. Aluminum foil food containers are now widely used in aviation, high-speed rail, and primary and secondary schools. However, due to their higher cost, they are less commonly used by takeout restaurants.

Currently, my country has national standards for plastic food packaging and paper food packaging. Shanghai and other places have also issued safety standards for paper packaging boxes for takeout food delivery.

However, given the proliferation of various fast food packaging boxes on the market, consumers must pay attention to the numerical markings on plastic boxes when ordering takeout food to be aware of their safety.

Takeout food inevitably carries the risk of being high in calories, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. Even frequent takeout orderers don't generally believe that eating takeout is good for their health in the long run. The common perception that takeout is "bad" stems from two reasons: it may be unclean and it may lack nutritional value. The first test is the merchant's conscience and legal awareness; the second is actually about the cooking method the customer orders.

Delicious taste is the primary condition for attracting customers to food delivery. To make food taste good, it's inevitable to use strong flavors, often high in salt, oil, and sugar, and with a variety of seasonings.

This year, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Implementing the Healthy China Action," which details 15 actions targeting healthy behaviors in China, including implementing a reasonable diet action and encouraging the whole society to participate in reducing salt, oil, and sugar intake. The reason for encouraging this reduction is that numerous studies have proven that high-salt, high-oil, and high-sugar diets are not only major culprits of obesity but also significant causes of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Furthermore, numerous studies have demonstrated that excessive intake of salt, cooking oil, and fat by most Chinese residents contributes to the persistently high incidence of related diseases.

How to eat healthily varies from person to person, but the basic elements are nothing more than salt, oil, and sugar. According to the latest edition of the *Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents*, adults should consume no more than 6 grams of salt, 25-30 grams of cooking oil, and no more than 50 grams of sugar per day, ideally below 25 grams.

However, these dietary guidelines require voluntary acceptance and are not mandatory. Apart from a very small number of light meals catering to fitness and weight loss groups, most restaurants, in order to maintain good taste, find it difficult to avoid high-salt, high-oil, and high-sugar foods. Therefore, under current conditions, relying entirely or long-term on food delivery services cannot guarantee a healthy diet.

From another perspective, can we have both takeout and health? Takeout is essentially ultra-processed food. Ultra-processed food is a concept proposed by a Brazilian pediatrician in his research, referring to overly processed foods, or processed foods with various seasonings and additives that are ready to eat at any time.

Ultra-processed food is just a preliminary concept. For example, yogurt with added sugar and other "flavors" falls under the category of ultra-processed food. For pre-packaged foods, a simple way to determine if they are ultra-processed is to check the ingredient list for sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, refined vegetable oil, and a string of unfamiliar substances.

Ultra-processed foods, due to their higher additive content, have long been criticized by health experts and nutritionists who believe they contribute to obesity. However, some studies suggest that ultra-processed foods are a viable way to improve nutritional status and nutrient intake. Food processing can also reduce food waste and make dairy products and wheat products more palatable. Furthermore, processing can improve food quality, remove potential natural toxins, and increase the bioavailability of nutrients.

Another significant aspect is that takeout food can free women from the labor of home cooking. Statistics from the OECD show that China's female labor force participation rate exceeds 70%, the highest in the world. However, in Chinese families, unpaid housework is primarily borne by wives (65%) and the elderly (23%). China's male participation rate in housework ranks only fourth from the bottom globally. Therefore, the healthy development of food delivery services means less time women spend cooking at home, which represents a form of labor liberation for them.

Meanwhile, supporters of food delivery services believe that they can perfectly balance time-saving, hygiene, and nutrition, for example, by providing low-salt, low-oil, and low-sugar dishes according to diners' needs. In fact, in recent years, an increasing number of restaurants have responded to the government's call to publicly demonstrate their food preparation processes through "transparent kitchens," and have labeled some dishes as low in salt, oil, and sugar. Some restaurants have even launched services where customers can watch videos of the kitchen preparation process on their mobile phones to ensure their peace of mind.

We can imagine that if one day the entire catering industry can achieve "transparent kitchens" and emphasize nutritional balance, related health concerns are likely to be dispelled. At that time, not only will people be able to eat with peace of mind, but food delivery also has the potential to become one of the mainstream lifestyles for Chinese people.