Abstract
Based on systematic literature study and policy document analysis, this paper investigates the environmental pollution-induced food safety problem in China, including the impact of environmental pollution on food safety and the policy response of Chinese government since 1970's. The results show that, to different degrees, food safety of China is affected by large but inefficient chemical fertilizer and pesticides residue (although the consumption began to decline after around 2015), cropland heavy metal pollution (especially cadmium), water pollution, and high ozone concentration. The evolution of pollution-induced food safety policies of China can be divided into four stages, i.e., preparation stage (1974–1994), construction stage (1995–2005), elaboration stage (2006–2013), and intensification stage (2014–). Through the four stages, the increasingly stringent policy system has been featured by “from supply-safety balance to safety first,” “from multi-agency management to integrated management,” and “from ex post supervision to ex ante risk control.” To further prevent pollution and control food quality, more collaborations between the agricultural and environmental agencies and more specific policies should be anticipated.
Highlights
Food safety is the basic requirement for human health and public safety
This paper presents a systematic review for the pollution-induced food safety problem in China, including the impact of environmental pollution on food quality and the policy response of the government, which is expected to advance the understanding of the environment-food nexus and shed some light on the targeted policy making
8.9 ± 0.19 × (CFU/mL) 2.4 × (CFU/mL) 1.0 × 103-1.1 × 104 (CFU/mL) 3 × 104 (CFU/g) and policy document analysis, this paper identifies 4,471 relevant articles in 1,180 policies and analyzes the policy evolution concerning the pollution-induced food safety issue of China
Summary
Food safety is the basic requirement for human health and public safety. It is both necessary and challenging to ensure food safety as it is related to the whole supply chain, involving production, processing, storage, transport, and trade. Along with the transformation from traditional agriculture to intensive farming and the rapid industrialization and urbanization around the globe, environmental pollution has become an important source of food insecurity. The pollution, along with the food production, including soil and water pollution and excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, will accumulate toxic substances in the agricultural product, such as sulfates, nitrates, and heavy metals [1, 2], which threatens human health through the food consumption. In areas with relatively poor environmental quality, people are more likely to ingest polluted food and get food-borne diseases [3].
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