On The Government Regulation Of Food Safety

In recent years, frequent occurrence of food safety events stimulate Chinese people’s sensitive nerve, what is more, the issue of food safety has become a major concern for people’s daily life. Food security is not only related to the life and health of Chinese people, but also affected our country’s economic development and social stability, and the government should continue to strengthen the effective regulation of food safety. Although many scholars have conducted research and discussion about Government regulation of food safety, yet the studies based on the administrative law is rarely, and most studies are from one perspective to do research which are lack of the macroscopic, comprehensive and systemic views. Based on the necessity of the Government’s food safety supervision, this paper is in administrative law perspective, which further analyzes the existing problems of China’s food safety supervision, and put forward some feasible proposals according to the existing problems which can continuously promote the continuous improvement of the efficiency of government supervision of food safety.This paper will discuss government regulation of food safety issues from four parts.The first part is an overview of government regulation of food safety. First is about the definition of the concept of food security. This section introduces the definition of food safety according to the definition of the World Health Organization and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the concept of food security is identified on the basis of the definition of food safety of scholars and the definition of food security in China’s "Food Safety Law". Second, identification of government regulation of food safety is directed against the understanding of Chinese and foreign scholars on government regulation, and combine with the food safety, then get the main content of the government regulation of food safety in this article. Finally, the author analyzes the theory of government regulation of food safety, mainly from the need of human rights protection and the functions of government to discuss. Protection of human rights in international conventions related provisions were clearly defined in the Constitution of our country, the right to life and health are the most basic human rights recognized by government need to be protected. Due to the limitations of the market economy itself, as well as the food market information asymmetry, government regulation is needed to ensure food safety.In the second part, the author analyzes the current situation of the government regulation of food safety in China. This section first introduces our current food safety regulatory that is a multi-section sub-regulatory mode:the rights of regulatory authorities are overlapping which causes unclear regulatory status quo. Then the reasons are traces historically; the main functions of supervision departments are generalized. The author also analyzes the reasons why the law enforcement departments, facing to interests, contend for the first place to enforce the law and shuffle each other when they take responsibilities. Secondly, the food recall system, the prominent problems of food safety information disclosure system and food safety risk monitoring and assessment system were analyzed. It is mainly about the process of food recall in legislative way is not imperfect; recall departments have unclear division of labor, and recall standard is not clear. In the information disclosure system, the information can not be timely and effective disclosed and prevarication affect public efficiency between the public sectors. Risk monitoring and evaluation mainly analyses that inspection bodies set is unreasonable and inspection efficiency is not high. What is more, the author generalizes technical standards that cause lack of supervision; the author further analyses the backwardness of the current regulatory technical means, the fiasco of regulatory standards, imperfect regulatory system of accountability, and the study focuses on the research of government’s responsibility in the food safety supervision in China.In the third part, the author mainly does investigation of government regulation of food safety in developed countries. Mainly through the study of the regulatory model in developed countries, the research and analysis of the comprehensive regulatory approach led by the United States, Japan and the European Union, Russia, represented by a single regulatory model. In this part, the author researches the division of functions and powers of the legal system and regulatory agencies in the United States, Japan and the European Union’s food safety supervision, next the author draws that a sound legislative system of food safety regulatory, a strict standard system, regulatory authorities’clear responsibilities, as well as scientific and effective control system have been developed in developed countries. In the fourth part, the author discusses China’s food safety problems that have existing in government regulatory status quo, then puts forward some suggestions combined with our specific situations. First of all, establish and improve food safety regulatory approach to achieve the full supervision. Establishment of the Food Safety Commission as an integrated and coordinated department finds that the duties of the regulatory authorities, to strengthen the regulatory powers of the Food Safety Commission, the establishment of vertical management from central to local, centralized regulatory agencies. Secondly, perfect foods recall system standards, and then establish special legislation, clear the standard of food recall, establish special coordinative organization responsible for food recall. Improve the information disclosure system, the promulgation of a unified, authoritative "Open Government Information Act" to expand the scope of information disclosure, the multivariate information released way to establish the responsibility of the government public information system. Integrate the various departments of the perfection of the risk assessment and monitoring system, monitoring resources, and establish a unified and effective monitoring system, strengthen the construction of the risk assessment personnel, improve the professional level, and gradually establish a scientific and effective evaluation method. Next, the building of China’s food safety regulatory system of technical standards should be strengthened, regulatory technical standards is an important basis of food production that is an important guarantee for safeguarding the vital interests of the consumer. Establishing uniform standards is also an important guarantee to improve regulatory efficiency. Finally, establish government accountability. Government responsibility is not clear, the imbalance of powers and responsibilities easily lead to illegal dereliction of duty, mainly due to the abuse of rights. So legal construction can improve the government regulatory responsibility, clear regulatory body and regulatory responsibilities, formulate the regulatory functions of the powers and responsibilities of the unity, and actively implement the government accountability system, make the regulatory body administrate legally and full their duty under strong pressure of accountability and protect the fundamental interests of enterprises and consumers. Strengthen the formulation of related laws and supporting details in order to guarantee the applicability and operability of the accountability system.