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KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell leading Chinese health initiatives

The Chinese government wants to help its people live longer, healthier lives and has enlisted the support of the nation’s leading fast-food operator, Yum China, to lead the charge.

November 29, 2016 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The Chinese government wants to help its people live longer, healthier lives and has enlisted the support of the nation’s leading fast-food operator, Yum China, to lead the charge. As the parent brand of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, Yum China Holdings’ KFC Health Foundation is the host of a conference about improving health; the ninth annual conference kicks off tonight in the Chinese city of Zhuhai, according to a release.

Scientists, scholars and nutrition and health services from across China join branding and corporate leaders of Yum China and the China Red Cross Foundation to plan ways for the country to help its citizens extend their average life expectancy to 79, according to a news release. 

Although some of Yum Brands products in the U.S. have little brand recognition related to overall healthful and nutritious foods, in China the brand’s newly split-off company is establishing a name for itself as a nutritional and health leader. 

"Nutrition is fundamental to the well-being of Chinese people and we are pleased to support the Healthy China 2030 plan through a wide range of research and educational initiatives," said Yum China CEO Micky Pant. "Over the past decade, the Yum China KFC Health Foundation has supported extensive research into the development of nutrition and we are committed to improving understanding of balanced diets throughout China."

Increasing life expectancy is part of the State Council’s Healthy China 2030 plan, which outlines the Chinese government's goal of growing the nation’s life expectancy from its current 75 years to 79, while also increasing its overall population health outcomes to the level of higher-income countries by 2030. Currently, U.S. life expectancy is almost 79, while neighboring Japan has an average life expectancy of more than 83 years, according to World Bank data. 

Since Yum China partnered with CRCF to create the KFC Health Foundation in 2007, the company has given about $2.2 million to support more than 50 science research and education programs to improve the eating habits of Chinese people, according to the release.

"Yum China has always placed food safety and the promotion of balanced diets as top priorities and central elements of its social commitment,” said CRCF Vice General Secretary Liu Xuanguo, in a news release. "The cooperation between the CRCF and Yum China is a fantastic example of the valuable intersection between philanthropy and business."

At this year’s conference, Dr. Chen Junshi, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and general adviser to the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, explained the key elements of the nation’s Healthy China 2030 plan. Other state-employed health and nutrition experts also spoke, outlining the country’s national nutrition policies and sharing their take on the country’s 2016 revised Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents from China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission.

"During the three decades that we have been in China, we have always been committed to improving the lives and nutrition of people across the country," said Alice Wang, Vice President of Public Affairs for Yum China. "We are focused on continuously improving the nutritional profile of our high-quality products, while providing our customers with great tasting food and a variety of menu options."

In China, Yum restaurants are active participants in the country’s state-sponsored health and nutrition campaigns. In fact, a news release said that in the last eight years, the company’s One Yuan Donation program, founded in partnership with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, has raised more than $18.8 million and provided more than 29 million meals to 145,000 of the country’s poverty-stricken children. The company also helped publicize information during a national nutrition week in May by giving some 30 million customers place mats with dietary information on them. 

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.