Chinese restaurant chain weighing customers to assess how much food they should eat

A popular restaurant in central China calledChuiyan Fried Beef weighed customersbefore they entered the premises as part of a national campaign to reduce food waste.

The Hunan chainin the city of Changsha,has apologised after being accused of “fat-shaming” customers. It said“our intention was to advocate not wasting food and for people to order in a healthy way”.

"Netizens are welcome to come to the store to experience it and give their comments and suggestions," the statement said.

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Tan Yan, president of the Chuiyan Fried Beef chain, said that despite the upset, ''more than a thousand groups of customers had gone along with the idea.''

The whole incident sparked outrage after two scales were placed at the entrance of the restaurant along with a note suggesting how much food people should order based on their body weight.

The guide recommended that women under 40kgshould order no more than two dishes, suggestions included sautéed beef and steamed fish head, while men weighing 70-80 kg could have up to three.

Last week, a catering association in the central city of Wuhan advocated for customers toorder "N-1" dishes,or one fewer dish than the number of people dining.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a food waste minimisation campaign on August 11, as China continues to grapple with food crisis.