Research On The Role Of Third Party Testing Organization In China 's Food Safety Supervision System

With the development of society, the third party plays an increasingly important role in social activities as an emerging force. Poly-subjects participating in social affairs has achieved initial success, such as the Chicago city government would conduct an external audit in the process of preparing the annual financial report, in addition to internal audit. By commissioning a third-party auditor reviews the financial data to ensure authenticity of financial reporting. Participation in our society administrative practice, such as the government’s performance evaluation, governance, social forces act as an important ro le in various fields, which is an important part of democracy.In recent years, the frequent happening of C hina’s food safety issues exposed that there are many problems existing in the multi-sectoral segments supervision system.It’s generally believed that the troubles of current regulatory system are: fragmentation, the imbalance between government and society, the imperfection of supervision mechanism, laws and standards, as well as the lacking of multi- subjects involvement. And many researchers have put forward some policy recommendations from different views. Facing with food safety illegal activities technically, potential food safety risks caused public panic and contributed to the continuous improvement of public awareness of food safety. Social participation on food safety supervision placed on the Government’s agenda. China revised and promulgated the new "Food Safety Law" in this year to guide the reformation of the food safety regulatory system, putting forward the concept of "social cohabitat ion" for the first time. The third-party testing organization as a main stakeholders in food safety inspection, as well as an independent social and economic body, has a role in promoting structural reform of food safety system by involving in the supervis ion process.How to participate in safety supervision, and what kind of role the third-party testing organizations are taking in supervision are worth to explore. Developed countries tried some attempts in the construction process food safety supervision system, and had some achievements. Researching the role of third-party testing organizations in the developed countries’ food safety regulatory process and the provisions of the related laws and regulations may provide inspiration and reference for C hina’s food safety regulatory reformation.In the food safety regulatory reformation, the government should accelerate the construction of government functions, improve the risk control mechanism and food standards, and establish the platform of third-party cooperation and information-sharing, in order to ensure the effective participation of third-party testing organization in supervision, meanwhile, third-party testing agencies should accelerate their development. Through the integration of resources and the establishment of industry associations, our country should establish a comprehensive regulatory system for food safety, combining with other social resources.