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A typical delivery meal: braised pork rice bowl. [Photo/IC]

Shaoxing is exploring a new approach to ensure food safety in restaurants that operate exclusively through delivery.

The city hosts more than 13,000 online catering businesses, many of which do not offer dine-in services. To tackle the regulatory challenges created by this emerging sector, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province introduced new standards in July to better manage delivery-focused restaurant clusters.

Shaoxing has actively promoted the development of such clusters, adopting a collective management model to strengthen safety and industry standards.

At a delivery-only cluster in Keqiao, 33 standardized vendor stalls are neatly arranged. Licenses and certifications are clearly displayed, and workspaces are bright and clean. Pickup counters are designed with two levels, allowing delivery riders to collect orders in an orderly and efficient manner.

An official from the Keqiao district market supervision bureau said the cluster addresses key pain points in the delivery-only industry by integrating resources and standardizing operations. This approach helps merchants shift from working independently to developing collectively, providing replicable practices for citywide regulation of online catering.

To further improve the market environment, the cluster has organized materials that are prone to clutter in a warehouse, while providing supporting facilities such as a shared storage area and a shared disinfection area.