On December 15th, the China Food Safety Rule of Law Conference (2024) was successfully held at Renmin University of China(RUC). The theme of this year's conference was "Integrating Food Safety Rule of Law Efforts through Systematic Thinking and Enhancing the Effectiveness of Social Co-governance in Food Safety." The conference focused on cutting-edge issues such as the social co-governance of retail food, regional cooperation and local linkage in food safety governance, campus food safety governance and dietary nutrition, and the joint governance of online catering food safety.
The conference was organized by the Food Safety Governance Collaborative Innovation Center of RUC and the Market Supervision Rule of Law Research Base of RUC. The opening ceremony was presided over by Yang Dong, Dean and Professor of the School of Law at RUC.
Zhu Xinkai, Executive Vice President of RUC, pointed out in his opening speech that food safety is a typical interdisciplinary field that requires interdisciplinary cooperation to solve practical problems in food safety governance. He said that RUC has been actively promoting disciplinary construction and talent cultivation, emphasizing interdisciplinary research and cooperation with practical departments. Through project research, academic forums, and international cooperation, the university has built a bridge of cooperation between government, enterprises, universities, and research institutions, achieving significant results in talent cultivation, scientific research, social service, and international exchange. He emphasized that food safety governance should be guided by systematic thinking, further deepening domestic and international cooperation, promoting the construction of rule of law in the food safety field, and advancing collaborative governance, contributing wisdom and strength to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Representatives from the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, the China Nutrition and Health Food Association, and the State Administration for Market Regulation delivered speeches. They stated that food safety governance is also a systematic project involving the entire chain and all fields. Under new circumstances, the goal should be to create a fair, just, transparent, and efficient market environment, continuously improve the food safety rule of law system, promote policy implementation, and build a collaborative governance pattern led by the government, responsible enterprises, and social participation, providing strong support for safeguarding people's health and well-being and promoting high-quality social development.
The keynote speech session was chaired by Han Dayuan, Executive Director of the Food Safety Governance Collaborative Innovation Center, Professor of the School of Law, and a member of the State Council's Food Safety Expert Committee.
Representatives from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center, and the Market Supervision Rule of Law Research Base of RUC delivered speeches. They comprehensively explained the importance of the construction of the food safety standard system and proposed that in the future, it is necessary to further strengthen food safety risk assessment, continuously improve the food safety standard system to make standards more rigorous. In addition, it is necessary to comprehensively enhance the regulatory efficiency of the quality safety of agricultural products, jointly safeguard food safety and contribute to the construction of a reassuring and harmonious concentrated transaction market environment for agricultural products.
The conference's thematic report session was chaired by Lu Lei, Deputy Director of the Scientific Research Office and Researcher at the Food Safety Governance Collaborative Innovation Center of RUC.
Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Chinese Nutrition Society, the China Food Industry Association, the School of Public Administration and Policy of RUC, and Meituan delivered keynote speeches. They stated that technological progress is key to improving food safety levels, and through innovative technologies such as biotechnology, traceability, and preservation, the safety risks in production, circulation, and consumption links are better controlled. In addition, scientific communication and public interaction can enhance understanding and recognition of food safety policies, regulations, and standards, which helps to eliminate misunderstandings and strengthen public participation and trust in food safety.
The conference also featured four sub-forums with themes including "Social Co-governance of Retail Food," "Regional Cooperation and Local Linkage in Food Safety Governance," "Campus Food Safety Governance and Dietary Nutrition," and "Joint Governance of Online Catering Food Safety." More representative from government, universities, and enterprises delivered speeches and engaged in exchanges.
Wang Xu, Vice Dean and Professor of the School of Law of RUC, made the concluding remarks of the meeting. He stated that the rule of law plays an important role in the entire food safety governance, and multiple entities such as the government and industry should engage in collaborative governance. By optimizing processes to deal with more issues, it is possible to achieve food safety governance effectiveness.
