食品安全、行业竞争与政府治理——20世纪二三十年代化学酱油之纠葛

Food Safety,Industry Competition and Governance:Unraveling the Complexities of Chemical Soy Sauce in the 1920s-30s

20世纪二三十年代,新兴的化学酱油具有成本优势,对酱油市场造成极大冲击,但其制造工艺尚不完善,被质疑含有砒毒等品质问题。酱园业从消费者的安全和政府的盐课保障入手,利用舆论宣传、区域联合和公权力量,欲将化学酱油逐出市场。财政部顺应酱园业的诉求,并基于同样的理由,越位介入卫生与工商两个领域,禁止化学酱油命名为“酱油”,取缔相关企业的合法商标与厂名,连累其他企业正常生产。化学酱油的境遇表明,食品安全涉及市场主体之间的利益博弈,政府不同部门的应对亦难一致。

In the 1920s-30s,the emerging chemical soy sauce posed a significant challenge to the soy sauce market due to its cost advantages.However,its manufacturing process was still imperfect,leading to quality issues such as arsenic contamination.The soy sauce industry,driven by concerns for consumer safety and the government’s reliance on salt tax revenue,employed public opinion campaigns,regional alliances,and governmental authority to attempt to eliminate chemical soy sauce from the market.The Ministry of Finance,responding to the demands of the soy sauce industry and based on similar reasons,exceeded its jurisdiction by intervening in the fields of hygiene and commerce.It prohibited the use of the term“soy sauce”for chemical soy sauce,banned legitimate trademarks and factory names of related companies,and affected the normal production of other enterprises.The predicament of chemical soy sauce illustrates that food safety involves a game of interests among market entities,and different government departments struggle to reach a consensus in their response.