Huatai Securities: The national standard for pre-formed vegetables will help the industry to develop with high quality.

Huatai Securities research report stated that on February 6, 2026, the National Health Commission issued the "National Food Safety Standard for Ready-to-Eat Vegetables", openly soliciting opinions from the public, and for the first time at the national level, reasonably defined the definition and management scope of ready-to-eat vegetables, emphasizing the management of food contaminants and additives, stressing nutritional quality maintenance, and proposing requirements such as "the longest shelf life should not exceed 12 months" and clear labeling. This significantly raised the industry's entry threshold, better catering to the trend of health-conscious consumption, and reducing consumers' concerns about the quality of ready-to-eat vegetable products. Huatai Securities believes that this move marks the ready-to-eat vegetable industry entering a more regulated stage from the "wild growth" phase, which will help ensure the healthy and orderly development of the industry. They are optimistic about the ready-to-eat vegetable industry speeding up towards standardization and regulation, and the industry concentration is also expected to increase.