(Yicai) March 5 -- Just under 33 percent of the Chinese ready food products analyzed by a paper on Nature's Nutrition and Diabetes journal were classified as healthy, based on Australia and New Zealand's Health Star Rating system.

The average HSR of 2,087 ready foods on sale on China's four major e-commerce platforms -- Taobao, JD.Com, Suning, and Vipshop -- was just 2.7 out of 5 stars, and only 32.9 percent of them achieved a rating of at least 3.5 stars, which is the threshold for healthiness, according to the findings of the study published on Nutrition and Diabetes.

Only 13.3 percent of ready meals were classified as healthy, compared with 35.7 percent for ready dishes, the study found. Ready meals tend to be high in carbohydrates but low in protein, which may limit their nutritional adequacy if consumed as meal replacements.

In comparison, Australian ready foods scored an HSR of 3.4 stars, with 84.6 percent of them reaching the healthy threshold. A cross-country assessment of packaged food's nutritional values across 12 countries placed China seventh.

The most concerning issue that was found is that more than 85.6 percent of the ready foods exceeded the recommended sodium intake according to Chinese dietary guidelines, as the median sodium content per package was 1,733.6 milligrams.

This is likely because of the widespread use of high-sodium condiments, such as soy sauce, a cultural preference for savory, umami flavors, and the use of salt as a natural preservative, according to the authors.

The study also found a structural concern: products from leading manufacturers are less nutritious than those from smaller brands. The average HSR of the top 10 Chinese ready meal brands was 2.3 stars, below the average of 2.5 stars among the remaining brands.

The authors suggested this may reflect an industry-wide tendency to prioritize taste, market acceptance, and extended shelf life over improving nutritional quality, with competition potentially pushing manufacturers toward cheaper, less nutritious raw materials.

China's ready food market is expanding rapidly. It has grown at an annual pace of nearly 20 percent since 2020, reaching CNY516.5 billion (USD73 billion) in 2023.

The authors put forward three broad recommendations for the Chinese ready food industry. The first is to extend mandatory nutrition labelling to include saturated fat, added sugars, and dietary fibre. The second is to introduce front-of-pack labelling, drawing on the experience of systems such as Australia's HSR and Chile's warning labels to help consumers make healthier choices. The third is for the food industry, particularly large state-owned enterprises, to take greater corporate social responsibility in reformulating products.

China's forthcoming national standard GB 28050-2025, which will require mandatory disclosure of saturated fat and total sugars from next year, is a step forward, but further enhancements are needed, the authors believe.

Editor: Futura Costaglione