First of all, the food safety law straightened out the supervision system.
Xin Chunying, deputy director of the the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) Law Committee, pointed out at the press conference held by the General Office of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) that the rationalization of the food safety law supervision system is one of the most important missions of food safety legislation. China's supervision mode used to be that the food hygiene department was in charge of one department, but because of the heavy burden and many chains, the current situation of multi-sector supervision in the food industry was caused. There are many regulatory departments but there is no clear division of labor, which will inevitably lead to regulatory loopholes in some areas and affect supervision. In view of this situation, Article 4 of the Food Safety Law first clarifies the supervision responsibilities of various departments and establishes a segmented supervision system. That is, the quality supervision department is responsible for the supervision of production links, the industrial and commercial department is responsible for the supervision of circulation links, and the food and drug department is responsible for the supervision of catering services. At the same time, on the basis of subsection supervision, the State Council is also required to set up a food safety committee. Such a supervision and distribution system clarifies the division of labor and improves supervision and efficiency.
Second, the Food Safety Law clearly established a food safety risk monitoring and evaluation system and unified food safety standards.
Article 1 1 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that "the state shall establish a food safety risk monitoring system to monitor food-borne diseases, food pollution and harmful factors in food". The purpose of this monitoring system is to nip in the bud, and also to provide information and data reference for the "food safety risk assessment system" stipulated in Article 13 of the Food Safety Law. The results of food safety risk assessment are the scientific basis for formulating and revising food safety standards. This degree of standardization makes the judgment of food safety more scientific, and then we can try to solve the food safety problem from the source.
At the same time, the Food Safety Law also lists food safety standards in a separate chapter, making it clear that "food safety standards are mandatory standards." In addition to food safety standards, no other mandatory food standards may be formulated. "This can make the original standards coordinate with each other, without duplication, conflict or blank, and unify them into a national food safety standard. At the same time, the second paragraph of this article also stipulates that "before the new standard is uniformly issued, the original standard shall be implemented". The unification of food safety standards makes the supervision of China's food industry more normative and operable, and avoids regulatory loopholes and food safety hidden dangers caused by different norms and unbalanced standards.
Three, the Food Safety Law has expanded the responsibility and increased the punishment.
The Food Safety Law has increased the penalties for illegal acts, which are mainly reflected in:
1, strictly manage food additives. Article 45 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that "food additives should be technically necessary and proved to be safe and reliable by risk assessment before they can be included in the allowable use range". Strict control of food additives, "Sanlu" milk powder incident is the fuse.
2. Incorporate health food into the scope of adjustment of the Food Safety Law. This is aimed at some enterprises in our country producing health food without authorization, and some products are falsely publicized, exaggerating their functions, misleading the public and laying hidden dangers for food safety. Therefore, Article 5 1 of the Food Safety Law clearly stipulates that "the state shall strictly supervise the foods that claim to have specific health care functions". At the same time, the second paragraph of article 5 1 clearly stipulates the standards that health food must abide by. In this way, compared with ordinary food, health food has strengthened a regulatory threshold, which shows that China attaches importance to the safety of health care industry.
3. The problem of food recall system. Article 53 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that "the state establishes a food recall system". Compulsory recall of problem food for the first time can minimize the circulation of problem food in the market and minimize the harm.
4. Celebrity endorsement of false food advertisements will bear joint and several liability. Article 54 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that food safety supervision and management departments or agencies responsible for food inspection, food industry associations and consumer associations may not recommend food to consumers by advertising or other forms; Article 55 stipulates that if social organizations, other organizations and individuals recommend food to consumers in false advertisements, which damages the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, they shall be jointly and severally liable with food producers and operators. This regulation increases the risk of celebrity endorsement of food, so celebrities must study relevant qualities and qualifications before endorsing a food, which invisibly adds a layer of protection to food protection, and also prevents the influence of false food advertisements from expanding due to the negligence of some stars, resulting in even worse damage consequences.
5, cancel the food "inspection-free system" without leaving a regulatory gap. Article 60 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that "food safety supervision and management departments shall not exempt food from inspection" and requires relevant departments to "conduct regular or irregular sampling inspection of food".
6. Articles 84, 85 and 86 of the Food Safety Law stipulate that the amount of punishment for various illegal operations is five to ten times the payment for goods. Articles 87 and 88 stipulate that food safety problems are caused by negligence rather than intentionally, and the fines are relatively light. This kind of regulation distinguishes between intention and negligence. While protecting the interests of consumers, there is no "one size fits all" problem enterprise, so that punishment equals responsibility. Only in this way can the principle of fairness be embodied in the case of deterrence to enterprises.
7. Adhere to the important legal principle of giving priority to civil compensation. Article 97 of the Food Safety Law clearly stipulates that illegal enterprises "shall bear civil liability for compensation, pay fines and penalties, and bear civil liability first when their property is insufficient to pay at the same time". If there is something wrong with the current food enterprises, there may be civil sanctions, administrative sanctions and perhaps criminal sanctions, so there may be no capacity for civil compensation except administrative or criminal liability. Therefore, in the case of limited enterprise capacity, civil compensation should be satisfied first, which fully embodies the protection of civil rights.