Impact Of Food Safety Governance On Food Safety Management System In Chinese Food Business Operaters

Food safety in China is a major concern.To control and assure food safety,food business operators(FBOs)construct their food safety management systems(FSMS)based upon multiple legal requirements and private standards.Prior studies discussed and demonstrated that the food safety output of such FSMS depends not only on the level of control and assurance activities,but also on the business context riskiness.FBOs operating in a high-risk context need more tailored and advanced systems to achieve a good food safety output.As part of the broad context,food safety governance drives companies to comply through both public and private enforcement in order to ensure food safety.The aim of this study is to identify key actors and critical activities in the current Chinese food safety governance that could affect FSMS in Chinese FBOs.Based on techno-managerial framework,this study developed a modified FSMS-DI scale,which is specialized on typical food safety issues in China.Empirical study showed that the new scale has high reliability on evaluating the current status of FSMS in Chinese f FBOs.From the evaluation,this study discovered that Chinese FBOs mostly operated in a context which is medium risk level.Although the control activities are mostly evaluated as advanced level,assurance activities achieved average.This makes the assessment result of the whole FSMS is lower than advanced level.That’s also a weak point in the long-term operation of FSMS.Guided by system thinking,this study explored the multi layers structure of Chinese food safety governance system.In this study,the food safety governance system(FSGS)is defined as the system of all actors,activities,and interlinks that aim at controlling and ensuring food safety.Regulatory documents were analyzed to identify key actors and major activities in the Chinese food safety governance system.Actors and activities are further clustered in terms of their responsibility within the FSGS.Food safety governance involved activities among multiple actors.This study introduced actor model of policy analysis.These activities are shaped by actors’perceptions,values,and resources.With the help of literature analysis,expert evaluation,empirical study,and statistical analysis,this study revealed that the design and operation of FSMS in Chinese FBOs are affected by factors from multi actors.When activities of FSGS are performed as the way they are supposed to be,they sharp the perceptions,values,and resources of FBOs,and enable FBOs to establish advanced FSMS to ensure food safety.These activities are combinations of companies’perceptions,values,and resources.Activities could be affected when the three concepts go the wrong way.For instance,actors with conflicting values may not communicate as frequently or openly as they would if they had shared values;perceptions of different actors may diverge when the actors have no intensive relation;useful resource could be monopolized by a powerful actor.The affected activities still sharp the perceptions,values,and resources of food companies,only to hamper the development of advanced FSMS.