Reporter: Food safety has become one of the most concerned issues in society. It is not only a livelihood issue, but also an economic and social issue. What are the main measures we will take to do a good job in food safety in the future?
Zhang Yong: First, improve the supervision system and implement full supervision. The second is to strengthen capacity building and improve supervision efficiency. The third is to implement the main responsibility of enterprises and improve the internal control level of enterprises. The fourth is to pay close attention to key and difficult points and solve outstanding problems. The fifth is to establish and improve the responsibility system and promote the implementation of the work with the implementation of the responsibility. Sixth, strengthen emergency response and effectively control the impact and losses caused by food safety problems. Seventh, improve the participation of society in food safety work, mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties, and build a * * * management pattern. Eighth, strengthen the source management and promote the optimization and upgrading of the food industry.
Reporter: Due to frequent food safety problems, there are many discussions about our supervision system in the society. Now the society says that "ten big caps can't control a pig and a table of rice". What do you think of this?
Zhang Yong: To some extent, this statement reflects the problems existing in the supervision of food safety by multiple departments in China. At the same time, it also involves how to improve China's food safety supervision system. In fact, the two modes of division of labor supervision by multiple departments and independent supervision by a single department are very representative all over the world, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Multi-sector supervision is prone to problems such as overlapping functions and blank supervision, while single-sector supervision has many difficulties in realizing supervision specialization. Therefore, every country starts from its own reality, chooses a supervision mode that is in line with its own national conditions, and seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages to continuously solve existing problems. China is a big country in food production and consumption, and it is in a period of rapid development of food industry. The food industry chain from farmland to table is long. In all aspects of the industry chain, there are problems of strengthening safety supervision, standardizing market order, revitalizing industry, developing production and promoting economic growth, and these problems are closely linked. Therefore, in the process of exploring and perfecting the food safety supervision system, it is basically in line with China's reality to choose to implement multi-sector division of labor supervision according to food production and operation links, which is conducive to the combination of developing food industry and ensuring food safety.
at the same time, we can't avoid the problem. On the one hand, we do have the problem of too many regulatory departments and too scattered regulatory power. In this regard, relevant parties are actively studying to further rationalize the regulatory functions. On the other hand, it is urgent to strengthen the comprehensive coordination of food safety for problems such as unclear responsibilities and poor connection in multi-sector supervision. To this end, the Food Safety Law stipulates that China should establish a food safety supervision system that combines division of responsibilities with unified coordination. Last year, a food safety committee was established in the State Council, which strengthened comprehensive coordination, supervision and guidance, and made food safety work more systematic and achieved remarkable results. In addition, from the international experience, many countries that implement multi-sector supervision have also set up comprehensive coordination bodies, such as the President's Food Safety Committee of the United States and the Food Safety Committee of the Japanese Cabinet, which shows that the direction of improving our supervision system is * * *. In the next step, we should focus on three aspects: first, strengthen the comprehensive coordination function. While doing a good job in the coordinated handling of food safety incidents, it is necessary to increase the overall coordination of food safety comprehensive coordination agencies on the construction of food safety standards, monitoring, evaluation, information and other systems, the construction of regulatory capacity, and major governance actions, so as to further improve the regulatory effectiveness. The second is to improve the local comprehensive coordination institutions. According to the requirements of Document No.12 of the General Office of the State Council this year, before the end of the year, local people's governments at or above the county level should establish a comprehensive coordination mechanism for food safety, and clarify their offices, so as to effectively strengthen the grass-roots supervision system. The third is to encourage local exploration and innovation and integrate regulatory resources. We will promote the integration of grassroots law enforcement teams and comprehensive law enforcement pilots, sum up and promote useful experiences, promote the rational merger of functions, and reduce regulatory links.
Reporter: Food safety involves everyone's vital interests and life health. How to change the situation of weak supervision ability?
Zhang Yong: It is necessary to strengthen capacity building and improve supervision efficiency.
the first is to improve the standards. The national food safety standards were revised by the relevant departments in the State Council, and this work is being carried out at present. But this does not mean that places can wait passively, because there are still a considerable amount of food, additives, packaging materials and so on that have not yet been standardized. The perfection of national standards needs a process, in which we can't let ourselves go, otherwise it will become a huge hidden danger. All localities should study and formulate local standards in a timely manner. If it is difficult to introduce local standards for a while, they should also formulate normative requirements. In short, they must be managed. Another measure is to encourage enterprises to formulate their own enterprise standards that are stricter than national and local standards, and do a good job in filing and managing enterprise standards.
the second is to strengthen risk monitoring and evaluation. Every year, relevant departments should formulate a national food safety risk monitoring plan, and all regions should organize the formulation and implementation of risk monitoring programs in their own regions according to this overall plan. It is necessary to expand the monitoring and distribution of hidden dangers of food-borne diseases by medical institutions, improve the network system, and organize the assessment of hidden dangers in time. The monitoring and evaluation data should be well analyzed and applied as an important basis for issuing early warning, improving standards, law enforcement inspection and adjusting regulatory priorities.
the third is to further improve the inspection and testing ability. Facts have proved that you can't just trust the inspection report of the enterprise. Enterprises can take samples for inspection by themselves, and honest and law-abiding enterprises can strengthen quality management on this basis, but this is invalid for enterprises that break faith and violate the law. We must pay more attention to the role of law enforcement sampling in finding problems and restraining enterprises. It is necessary to increase investment and expand the scope and frequency of sampling inspection for key varieties and enterprises with large risk hidden dangers. At the same time, it is necessary to improve the inspection and testing system. First of all, it is necessary to realize mutual recognition of test results of institutions in the same area as soon as possible, and realize the sharing and interconnection of regulatory information of various departments. In the future, we will steadily promote the integration of institutions affiliated to various departments, and gradually promote the marketization of the attributes and business of testing institutions.
the fourth is to strengthen the construction of teams and technical equipment. Supervision and law enforcement personnel are not enough, and the quality of personnel is not high. It is necessary to enrich the necessary establishment and ensure that someone is in charge. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen training and education, assessment and evaluation, and improve the sense of responsibility and law enforcement level of supervisors. Technical equipment should also be strengthened. Now, it is often reported on TV that law enforcement officers go to shopping malls and restaurants to check, and the work has been strengthened, but many of them are still visually observed, so it is difficult to find problems. Therefore, it is necessary to equip front-line law enforcement personnel with advanced and applicable technical equipment, especially rapid detection equipment, to improve the on-site inspection ability.
there are three points that should be paid special attention to in the construction of regulatory capacity. First, we should be willing to invest. Many countries measure the regulatory investment according to the proportion of profits and taxes paid by the food industry. Drawing on international experience, considering the economic contribution of China's food industry and the urgency of food safety, it is necessary to invest more. Second, we should lean to the grassroots level, effectively solve the problem of "top-heavy" and lay a solid foundation for food safety. The third is to give play to the overall guiding role of planning. Strengthening food safety has been included in the national Twelfth Five-Year Plan. At present, with the approval of the State Council, the Office of the Food Safety Committee of the State Council is taking the lead in organizing the preparation of the national food safety supervision system plan during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period. It is hoped that all regions will actively strive to incorporate food safety into the local and industry "Twelfth Five-Year Plan", and study and prepare special food safety plans at the corresponding level, so as to achieve indicators, projects, funds, measures and support systems, and promote the basic capacity building of food safety supervision.
reporter: the first line of defense for food safety is the enterprise. How to change the decline of enterprise management?
Zhang Yong: Implementing the main responsibility of enterprises and improving the internal control level of enterprises. Food is different from ordinary products, which is directly related to people's health and life safety, so the management requirements of food enterprises should be stricter. The most basic requirement is that enterprises must have the minimum systems and hardware to ensure food safety, otherwise they cannot engage in the food industry. To implement the main responsibility of enterprises, we must do the following three things.
first, we must strictly control market access, and ensure that the basic quality of food producers and operators is up to standard from the source. All kinds of employees entering the food industry must be in place in two aspects: production and operation ability and product safety guarantee ability. At the same time, strengthen the follow-up supervision of licenses, and resolutely and forcibly withdraw from production and business entities that cannot continuously meet the licensing conditions.
Second, we should urge and guide enterprises to strictly implement the food safety management system. Food production enterprises should strictly implement the basic systems such as raw material acceptance, production process management, ex-factory inspection and unqualified food management; Food business enterprises should establish and improve self-discipline mechanisms such as food purchase inspection and recording system, food safety management responsibility system and sales delisting; Catering service units should implement the system of obtaining certificates and tickets, standardizing operation, personnel training, health management, equipment maintenance and tableware washing.
thirdly, we should strengthen the law enforcement inspection on the production and operation process and product quality. In-depth investigation of the management, technical loopholes and product safety hazards of producers and operators, and measures such as administrative punishment, rectification and compulsory ban should be taken according to law after problems are found.
in addition, enterprises must also take responsibility for safety investment. Security costs cannot be borne by the government. In the next step, it is necessary to study and improve the mechanism of increasing enterprise safety investment.
reporter: how to solve the main contradictions and outstanding problems in current food safety work?
Zhang Yong: The more complicated the work, the more important it is to grasp the principal contradiction and hold the bull's nose, not the eyebrows and beard. At present, there are three main contradictions and prominent problems in food safety work: First, illegal and criminal activities in the field of food safety are more serious, which consumers are most worried about, most likely to harm the interests of the masses and most strongly reflected by the people. The second is the quality and safety of key food varieties with large consumer groups, which is related to the daily diet of ordinary people. The third is the abuse of food additives, additives and other auxiliary materials and the addition of non-edible substances, which are the most likely to bring systemic risks to food safety. At present, there are many kinds of food additives, unclear base, mixed fish and dragons, low threshold for production enterprises, lack of safety in technology, illegal addition or even addition of non-edible substances, and so on, which even form the so-called "hidden rules" of the industry, posing a great threat to food safety.
in view of the outstanding problems, we should continue to deepen the food safety rectification actions. This year, Document No.12 of the General Office of the State Council has made work arrangements specifically for the above problems.
one is to launch a special campaign to crack down on food safety crimes. All regions and relevant departments should comprehensively investigate and investigate illegal activities in planting and breeding, food production and processing, trade circulation and catering services. If there are serious food safety problems, it is necessary to increase administrative punishment according to law until the production is stopped for rectification and the license is revoked; Acts of concealing food safety hazards and deliberately evading supervision should be severely punished according to law; Those suspected of committing crimes should be handed over to judicial organs in time, and it is strictly forbidden to substitute punishment for punishment.
the other is to carry out comprehensive management of six key varieties. These six varieties are dairy products, edible oil, meat, alcohol, health food and food additives. The document requires that comprehensive control measures should be taken to ensure the quality and safety of key varieties by paying equal attention to prevention and control, treating both the symptoms and the root causes, and taking multiple measures simultaneously. In other words, the management of key varieties should be combined with crackdown, standardization and guidance, and the regulatory measures should be stricter. The deployment of regulatory power and the use of law enforcement funds should be tilted towards key varieties, and priority should be given to the formulation of standards and risk monitoring.
Special emphasis should be placed on cracking down on the illegal addition and abuse of food additives. On April 21th, the State Council held a national teleconference for in-depth mobilization and deployment, and put forward clear requirements for the focus of cracking down on the illegal addition and abuse of food additives. The General Office of the State Council issued the Notice on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Food Additions and Strengthening the Supervision of Food Additives. The State Council has further highlighted the work of cracking down on the illegal addition and abuse of food additives, which can be said to have caught the "bull's nose" of food safety work at present and in the future. Because a series of major food safety problems have occurred in recent years, almost all of them are caused by various illegal acts such as adding non-edible substances to food, excessively using food additives at will, and expanding the use scope of food additives without authorization, this problem has become a major hidden danger that may lead to systemic food safety risks. Food safety problems can be greatly reduced if non-edible substances are strictly prevented from being added to food and the production and use of food additives are well managed. Therefore, we must unify our thoughts and actions with the deployment of the State Council, and continue to do a good job in cracking down on the illegal addition and abuse of food additives. According to the requirements of the leading comrades in the State Council, the principal responsible comrades of local governments at all levels should personally take charge of it and directly take charge of it, strengthen organizational leadership, coordination and supervision, clarify the lead institutions, specific plans and division of tasks, deploy, inspect and assess it, truly mobilize the grass-roots units, carry out their responsibilities, and effectively achieve tangible results for the people.
reporter: how to solve some existing problems such as poor leadership, unrealistic work, floating style and even serious dereliction of duty?
Zhang Yong: It needs to be prevented and corrected through strict accountability. Establish and improve the responsibility system, and promote the implementation of the work with the implementation of the responsibility. If the responsibility system is not perfect and the accountability is not in place, it will be difficult to implement the food safety work. Local governments should attach importance to and strengthen accountability. If something goes wrong, we must be decisive and accountable. All regions should also implement and establish a responsibility system specific to units, personnel and posts in various regulatory departments, and establish an internal incentive and restraint mechanism.
the next step is to promote two systems. First, the food safety assessment system of the higher level government to the lower level government. At present, we have completed the assessment of food safety rectification work in various regions, accumulated some experience, and have a certain foundation in feasibility. The second is to promote local food safety work into the scope of local performance appraisal.
in addition, the accountability system for the person in charge of the enterprise should be further improved. The person in charge, the actual controller, the investor and the person in charge of the merger and reorganization of the enterprise with serious food safety problems should be investigated for responsibility. The specific accountability measures should be improved from the aspects of increasing economic punishment and implementing the prohibition of employment.
reporter: how can we reduce the losses caused by food safety problems?
Zhang Yong: Strengthen emergency response and effectively control the impact and losses caused by food safety problems. Under the current severe food safety situation, the probability of food safety incidents is high. There have been many cases and some hot events since last year. These incidents have aroused great concern of the society and dissatisfaction of the masses, and have had a great negative impact on the related food industry. Nowadays, the masses are highly concerned and the media Internet is highly developed. Even if it is not big, the food safety incident itself can easily become a hot topic of public opinion. Therefore, we should not only base ourselves on eliminating major hidden dangers and preventing major accidents, but also attach great importance to the response and disposal of hot events, establish the awareness of active prevention and early intervention, early detection, early reporting and early disposal, and strive to control the harm and influence to the lowest degree and scope. It is necessary to further establish and improve the mechanism of public opinion monitoring and the Nuclear Department, clarify the measures and procedures for handling food safety incidents, and establish relevant departments in the region.