A restaurant in China has apologized for its controversial policy of asking diners to weigh up before entering into an overzealous response to a new national campaign against food waste.

The beef restaurant in downtown Changsha was heavily criticized on Chinese social media as soon as it revealed the guidelines on Friday.

According to a report by the state-run China News Service, customers were asked to stand on a scale and scan their data into an app that recommended food choices based on their weight and the calorific value of the dishes.

President Xi Jinping this week urged the nation to stop wasting food as the coronavirus pandemic and severe flooding spurred food prices up last month.

In response, regional catering groups have urged customers to order one less meal than the number of guests at a table.

1; an attempt to break the ingrained cultural habit of ordering extra groceries for group meals.
In the beef restaurant, signs saying “Be Frugal, Diligent, Promote Empty Plates” and “Operation Empty Plates” – related to the nationwide campaign – were displayed according to photos published in local media.

In a quick backlash, hashtags related to the incident were viewed over 300 million times on the Weibo social platform.

The restaurant deeply regretted the interpretation of the anti-waste campaign.

“Our original intent was to advocate stopping waste and ordering groceries the healthy way. We never forced customers to weigh themselves,” read an apology posted online on Saturday morning.

Chinese state media has also waged war on viral binge-eating videos known as “mukbang,” while live streaming platforms have promised to close accounts promoting overeating and food waste.

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