Further improvement on the regulation of food safety in China

Market mechanisms in food safety management can not fully play its role, together with food producers, processors, distributors and other stakeholders＇ breach of competition rules, so food safety management must rely on government regulation. But at this stage, government regulation of food safety in China is not perfect, vicious food safety incidents that continuously occur seriously endanger lives of people, reduce the credibility of government functions and hinder the stable development of social harmony. Therefore, improving the food safety laws and the food safety regulatory system, establishing food safety credit system and expanding social participation of food safety supervision mechanism are the top priority of the government to regulate food safety.     

“Carrying the black pot”: Food safety and risk in China's reactive regulatory state

This paper explores the struggles of China's party-state to address chronic food safety problems by adopting international best practices of risk-based regulation. Despite formally adopting risk-based approaches for targeting inspections and enforcement in 2002, implementation has been halting and uneven, as we show in the first analysis of risk-based regulation beyond its OECD heartlands. Drawing on policy document analysis and 36 key informant interviews with food business operators and government officials working on food safety regulation at every level of the state, we identify contradictions between official commitments to risk-based inspection and top-down demands for zero tolerance and strict accountability, which leave local inspectors preoccupied with avoiding blame more than reducing safety risks. Our analysis advances recent scholarship on regulatory states of the global South by highlighting how risk-based ideas, instruments, and practices are refracted through the distinctive norms and style of China's reactive regulatory state.     

Gorillas in the closet? Public and private actors in the enforcement of transnational private regulation

This paper examines to what extent the background presence of state regulatory capacity – at times referred to as the “regulatory gorilla in the closet” – is a necessary precondition for the effective enforcement of transnational private regulation. By drawing on regulatory regimes in the areas of advertising and food safety, it identifies conditions under which (the potential of) public regulatory intervention can bolster the capacity of private actors to enforce transnational private regulation. These involve the overlap between norms, objectives, and interests of public and private regulation; the institutional design of regulatory enforcement; compliance with due process standards; and information management and data sharing. The paper argues that while public intervention remains important for the effective enforcement of transnational private regulation, governmental actors – both national and international – should create the necessary preconditions to strengthen private regulatory enforcement, as it can also enhance their own regulatory capacity, in particular, in transnational contexts.     

Enabling global principle‐based regulation: The case of risk analysis in the Codex Alimentarius

This paper deals with the creation of global principle‐based standards. For such standards to be accepted and effective, particular conditions must be fulfilled. One such condition, little explored, is that standard‐makers and ‐takers share knowledge about the meaning of the principles, as well as the practices through which they are likely to be applied. The paper shows that this condition is fulfilled when transnational cultural systems exist, by means of which both types of actors engage in the explication and representation of their practices so that a common, standard understanding emerges of how principles may be interpreted on the ground and informs the negotiations. A transnational cultural system is a crucial governance infrastructure to set global standards, as shown by the long history of creating a risk analysis guideline by the Codex Alimentarius, the inter‐governmental body for food standards.     

浅议食品安全问题对国家安全的危害

食品安全关系国计民生。认识食品安全问题的危害,从国家安全、民族存亡的高度对食品安全重要性达成共识,堵死食品安全事件借口,共筑食品安全的思想防线,是解决食品安全问题的前提。     

我国建立“食药警察”面临的问题与对策

近年来,我国各省市相继建立了专司打击食品药品领域犯罪的警务力量,简称"食药警察"。"食药警察"有望在全国得到推广。但建立"食药警察",面临着诸多需要妥善处理的问题,如法律不完善、职责界定不清、部门归属不明、技术水平低、监督制度不健全等。美国FDA下属的犯罪调查办公室与这支队伍具有类似的性质和目标,可以借鉴其先进管理经验,结合我国国情,建立高效的"食药警察"队伍。     

Food Brexit and Chlorinated Chicken: A Microcosm of Wider Food Problems

This paper situates food safety concerns raised in the Brexit debate since the referendum and suggests that, although the issue of chlorinated chicken entered public discourse, it represents wider concerns about food safety standards. Food safety has had high resonance in the UK since the 1980s, but Brexit shows how it connects to wider concerns also raised about Brexit, such as impacts on healthcare, the effects of austerity on food poverty, the limitations of low waged employment, concerns about migration and labour markets, and regional economic disparities. Brexit’s impact on the UK food system is immense because food has been highly integrated into EU governance. While food standards can be portrayed as a single narrow issue, the paper suggests it provides a useful lens with which to examine, interrogate and comprehend these wider Brexit politics. The complex realities of food politics and wider food system dynamics undermine any simplistic political narrative of ‘taking back control’.     

The Effect of Religiosity on Endorsement of Democratic Values: The Mediating Influence of Authoritarianism

This study addresses the as yet unaddressed question of the nature of the effects of religiosity and authoritarianism upon endorsement of abstract democratic values. Findings obtained through the analyses of structural equations show that, despite the unsettled political and security atmosphere, Israelis believe in democratic values to a considerable extent. Furthermore, findings do not fully support the theoretical expectation that religiosity is likely to decrease support for democratic values; namely, in and of itself, religiosity has a negligible impact on endorsement of democratic values. Yet again, analyses lend credence to theory on authoritarianism—the negative effect of religiosity on endorsement of democratic values results from the mediation of authoritarianism. These findings are understood and discussed with regard to theoretical implications. The major conclusion, then, in contrast to existing assumptions regarding religiosity and negation of democracy linkage, is that religiosity cannot be considered the sole direct root cause of negation of democracy.     

Dissonance on the Brexit Menu: What does Britain Want to Eat?

This article focusses on the future of food in the UK in the context of Brexit. It examines the claims and promises made by Brexiteers before the referendum and juxtaposes these with the approach pursued by the Conservative‐led government since. The article argues that there is a clear dissonance between the two. This dissonance is the result of two important factors. First, the government is stuck in a non‐decision‐making mode, making it unable to pursue clear policies. Second, the food claims and promises made by Brexiteers are in opposition to what the vast majority of the public, food experts, farmers and food businesses want. Through exploring these two factors, and the Brexiteers’ claims and promises, the article explains what leaving the EU might mean for the future of food in the UK.     

Authoritarian Attitudes, Democracy, and Policy Preferences among Latin American Elites

This article examines the prevalence and consequences of authoritarian attitudes among elites in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. We focus on the connection between antidemocratic elite attitudes and support for democracy; the causes and effects of authoritarian attitudes among elites and their implications for authoritarianism; and the impact of authoritarian attitudes beyond social policy preferences to other policy areas that have indirect implications for order. Contrary to some of the literature, we find that antidemocratic attitudes affect elites' support for democracy. Our analysis also speaks to the debate on the origins of authoritarianism. Much of the evidence supports Altemeyer's notion that perceived threat raises levels of authoritarianism, rather than Feldman's contention that threat strengthens the influence of authoritarian attitudes. Finally, we demonstrate that there is a broader influence of authoritarian attitudes on economic policy preferences, but only where those policies appear to have implications for social order.     

Effective Communication and Frame Persuasiveness for Food Safety Controversies： The Young Male Consumer＇s Perspective

This study explored effective risk communication for food safety targeting young male consumers who frequently dine outside by examining the controversy of US beef importation in Taiwan in 2012. Guided by risk perception theory and framing theory in issues management, the researcher developed a risk profile of young male consumers based on interview data. Persuasiveness of message frames used by the government was analyzed according to three distinct communicative objectives： to reduce risk perception, to motivate beef consumption, and to gain support for beef importation. The study suggested that the young male consumer＇s knowledge of US beef was formed by news reports and information from family members with experts as the most trusted source. They perceived US beef as risky but safe to eat if they wished. They seldom actively sought information about the beef. The new media were the most used by them for seeking and receiving such information. Frame persuasiveness varied across communicative objectives and was associated with the schemata employed in the configuration of risk-benefit trade-offs for each targeted behavior.