"Many people don't pack up leftovers mainly because of sanitary concerns. If you're dining with people you don't know, they could have diseases."

 

　　"When I attend wedding banquets, I usually find people I don't know sitting beside me, so I don't want to take away any leftovers from the banquet."

 

　　Also, many don't want to lose face by ordering too little.

 

　　Yue Fengchun, folklore expert in Lanzhou city, says providing guests big meal is a traditional custom.

 

　　"Hospitality to guests is the tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years in China. When inviting someone for meal, we have a subconscious feeling to provide guests with a big meal. Therefore, it's usually considered disrespectful to guests to order less."

 

　　Head of the catering industrial association in Sichuan province He Tao says.

 

　　"It's a consumption custom; having leftovers after meal has become the folklore in China, especially in wedding banquets, and business meals."

 

　　Today, when dining out is part of everyday life, more people are aware that rational consumption is the right thing to do.

 

　　Packing up your leftovers is a good habit, but expert Li Xiaojuan from the local Food and Drug Administration in Lanzhou city gives some advice.

 

　　"When packing leftovers, I suggest taking staple foods such as steamed bread. However, leftovers of cold dishes should not be packed up, as the cold dishes can not be heated after bringing them home and may cause food poisoning."

 

　　Li Xiaojuan adds that leftovers should be kept properly after being brought home. Food should be kept at temperatures below 10 degrees centigrade or higher than 70 degrees centigrade.

 

　　But if the packed food is put under room temperatures, they should be eaten within four hours.

 

　　Properly packing leftovers is important, but what's more important is how to order the right number of dishes. Manager of a restaurant in Shanghai Chen Changlei says food is wasted less nowadays.

 

　　"Previously when we had 600 diners in our restaurant, we would have to collect 15 buckets of slops every day, but now the situation is improved, the number decreased to 6 or 7 buckets every day."

 

　　Chen adds their restaurant usually gives diners advices about how many dishes are enough when they are ordering, that largely avoids food waste.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.