<p>A restaurant in China has apologised for its controversial policy of asking diners to weigh themselves before entry in an overzealous response to a new national campaign against food waste.</p>.<p>The beef restaurant in the central city of Changsha was heavily criticised on Chinese social media as soon as it unveiled the policy on Friday.</p>.<p>Customers were asked to stand on scales and scan their data into an app that recommended food choices based on their weight and the dishes' calorific value, according to a report by the state-run China News Service.</p>.<p>President Xi Jinping this week urged the nation to stop wasting food, as the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank">coronavirus</a> pandemic and serious flooding last month have led to a rise in food prices.</p>.<p><strong>READ: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/china-inflation-edges-up-on-the-back-of-food-prices-871571.html" target="_blank">China inflation edges up on the back of food prices</a></strong></p>.<p>In response, regional catering groups have urged customers to order one dish fewer than the number of diners at a table -- an attempt to overturn the ingrained cultural habit of ordering extra food for group meals.</p>.<p>Signs were displayed in the beef restaurant reading "be thrifty and diligent, promote empty plates" and "operation empty plate" -- referring to the nationwide campaign -- according to photos published in local media.</p>.<p>In a swift backlash, hashtags related to the incident have been viewed over 300 million times on the social platform Weibo.</p>.<p>The restaurant said it was "deeply sorry" for its interpretation of the anti-waste campaign.</p>.<p>"Our original intentions were to advocate stopping waste and ordering food in a healthy way. We never forced customers to weigh themselves," it said in an apology posted online on Saturday morning.</p>.<p>Chinese state media has also waged war on viral binge-eating videos, known as "mukbang", while live-streaming platforms have promised to shut down accounts promoting excess eating and food wastage.</p>
<p>A restaurant in China has apologised for its controversial policy of asking diners to weigh themselves before entry in an overzealous response to a new national campaign against food waste.</p>.<p>The beef restaurant in the central city of Changsha was heavily criticised on Chinese social media as soon as it unveiled the policy on Friday.</p>.<p>Customers were asked to stand on scales and scan their data into an app that recommended food choices based on their weight and the dishes' calorific value, according to a report by the state-run China News Service.</p>.<p>President Xi Jinping this week urged the nation to stop wasting food, as the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank">coronavirus</a> pandemic and serious flooding last month have led to a rise in food prices.</p>.<p><strong>READ: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/china-inflation-edges-up-on-the-back-of-food-prices-871571.html" target="_blank">China inflation edges up on the back of food prices</a></strong></p>.<p>In response, regional catering groups have urged customers to order one dish fewer than the number of diners at a table -- an attempt to overturn the ingrained cultural habit of ordering extra food for group meals.</p>.<p>Signs were displayed in the beef restaurant reading "be thrifty and diligent, promote empty plates" and "operation empty plate" -- referring to the nationwide campaign -- according to photos published in local media.</p>.<p>In a swift backlash, hashtags related to the incident have been viewed over 300 million times on the social platform Weibo.</p>.<p>The restaurant said it was "deeply sorry" for its interpretation of the anti-waste campaign.</p>.<p>"Our original intentions were to advocate stopping waste and ordering food in a healthy way. We never forced customers to weigh themselves," it said in an apology posted online on Saturday morning.</p>.<p>Chinese state media has also waged war on viral binge-eating videos, known as "mukbang", while live-streaming platforms have promised to shut down accounts promoting excess eating and food wastage.</p>