No country is an island in regulating food safety:How the WTO monitors Chinese food safety laws through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism(TPRM)

Established within the framework of the World Trade Organization （WTO）, the Trade Policy Review Mechanism （TPRM） reviews periodically the trade policies of all WTO Members. The review includes many aspects of food safety regulation. China＇s trade policy is reviewed every two years. This paper analyses in detail the reviews of China＇s trade policy in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. It focuses in particular on food safety laws and types of standards, alignment of domestic standards with international standards, the role of different domestic institutions, transparency and notification of food safety measures under the WTO agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures （SPS） and on Technical Barriers to Trade （TBTAgreement）, import and export, and geographical indications （GIs）. It concludes that the WTO TPRM can contribute, within its mandate, to reform of Chinese food safety laws and improvement of food safety in China. it notes that China has already undertaken substantial reforms of its system for regulating food safety. It recommends that China should continue to participate actively in the TPRM, follow its own path with regard to alignment and learn selectively from other WTO Members.

New Food Safety Law of China and the special issue on food safety in China

1. IntroductionThere have been a number of serious incidents of compro- mised food safety in China in recent years. To list a few, these include： a Salmonella outbreak, the use of horse- meat in burgers, the illegal use of phthalates as a clouding agent, the contamination of formula milk by melamine, the meat scandal of Shanghai Husi Food Company which sold reprocessed stale meat to many fast food chains includ- ing McDonald＇s, Burger King, and KFC across theworld,

Governance Logic and Basic Systems of the New “Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China”: a Focus on Social Co-Governance

To modernize food safety governance, we must carry out basic restructuring of its internal logic at the national level to reflect the features of contemporary Chinese society that shape food safety. This will entail establishing an overarching, macro-level conception of food safety that integrates ＂baseline safety＂, ＂hub safety＂, ＂co-constructed safety＂ and ＂endogenous safety＂. These four dimensions of safety represent four fundamental requirements of food safety governance in modern Chinese society, which is a ＂risk society＂（Beck 1992） and one that is also complex, open and pluralist. These requirements are： maximum legal liability, a unified, authoritative and efficient supervision system, a concept of social co-governance, and enterprises being the primary entities accountable for food safety. This article uses this analytical framework to interpret the basic contents of the newly revised Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, and uses a focus on social co-governance to present the institutional highlights of this law and the transformation of the internal logic of food safety governance.

CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN CHINA＇S FOOD SAFETY LAW

We are living in a risk society where people devised the Precautionary Principle in order to minimize the harm caused by risk ex ante. Compared to the previous Food Hygiene Law （FHL） and the 2009 Food Safety Law, the 2015 revised Chinese Food Safety Law （FSL） made a real breakthrough in the sense that it legitimates an important principle in food safety governance. Apart from laying down the fundamental importance of this principle in food safety regulations, the FSL 2015 also invented arrangements from different aspects in order to implement this principle. In other words, the FSL 2015＇s incorporation of the Precautionary Principle in a very real sense marked a transition from a demonstrative preventive food safety management regime to a more effective precautionary regime. However, the Precautionary Principle needs to be adopted in a ＂precautionary＂ way since this principle has its own limitations and defects. Incautious application of the principle may create new risks. This article compares the European approach in implementing the Precautionary Principle, and examines China＇s legal arrangements against negative impacts brought by the Precautionary Principle. Three perspectives are discussed： independence of scientific institutes; proportionality in risk management measures, and the shift of burden of proof for market authorization.

Eating at Ease New regulation details rules under the Food Safety Law

The State Council, China’s cabinet,promulgated the Regulation on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law on July 8.

Food safety regulatory systems in Europe and China:A study of how co-regulation can improve regulatory effectiveness

Food safety has received a great deal of attention in both developed and developing countries in recent years. In China, the numerous food scandals and scares that have struck over the past decade have spurred significant food safety regulatory reform, which has been increasingly oriented towards the public-private partnership model adopted by the Europe Union＇s （EU） food safety regulatory system. This paper analyzes the development of both the EU＇s and China＇s food safety regu- latory systems, identifies the current challenges for China and additionally considers the role of public-private partnership. The success of co-regulation in the food regulatory system would bring significant benefits and opportunities for China. Finally, this paper recommends additional measures like training and grants to improve the private＇s sector effectiveness in co-regulating China＇s food safety issues.