What are the problems in the current situation of food safety in China, and how to improve the overall level of food safety in China?

Food safety is a global public health problem, which is not only directly related to the healthy survival of human beings, but also seriously affects economic and social development.

In recent years, food safety incidents have occurred frequently. The epidemic situation of Escherichia coli O 157 in Japan involves 44 regions, with more than 1 10,000 patients. The mad cow disease incident in Britain caused panic throughout Europe and even the whole world; The dioxin incident caused dozens of countries to ban the import of chicken, pork, beef, eggs, milk and other products from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France [2]. . The problem of food safety in China can not be ignored. In 2005, for example, Sudan red food was banned. Strictly check malachite green throughout the country; Nestle milk powder iodine exceeds the standard; Guangdong preserved fruit was expelled from Beijing; Bright "back to milk" incident; Shenzhen Black Workshop produces Haagen-Dazs; French fries are carcinogenic. , which makes China people "talk about food color change". It can be seen that the current situation of food safety in China is not optimistic.

First, the factors affecting food safety in China

Major microbial and parasitic pollution

Microbial harm is the biggest harm to food safety at present, and it is also the biggest nemesis of food-borne diseases [3]. Contamination of food in the process of production, packaging and transportation or food made from sick animals and sick birds leads to a large number of bacteria, molds and parasites, which leads to food poisoning. Among them, bacterial pollution has always been the most extensive and influential pollution. At present, most food safety problems are caused by pathogenic bacteria, such as common Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Botox, pathogenic Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. Mycotoxin pollution. Fungi widely exist in nature, and their toxins are highly pathogenic, which may pollute food at any time, such as common moldy peanuts, soybeans, grains and so on. And aflatoxin B 1 is easy to detect. 200 1 Guangdong "poisoned rice" incident is a typical mycotoxin case. Virus pollution, such as hepatitis A virus (HAV), Norwalk virus (SRSV), mad cow disease virus (BSE) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMD).

(2) Pollution by pesticides and other chemicals.

With the improvement of environmental awareness and the control of environmental pollution, the problem of heavy metal pollution is gradually improving. In recent years, the chemical pollutants that plague food safety mainly come from pesticides and other chemicals. Due to the extensive use and abuse of pesticides, residues in food have become a new focus of food pollution.

1. pesticide pollution

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) disclosed to the Ministry of Health of China, in recent years, FDA detained several batches of food imported from China because of poor food hygiene and excessive pesticide residues.

Organochlorine pesticides: Organochlorine pesticides are the earliest pesticides used on a large scale in China [4]. A large number of investigation results show that the residue level of organochlorine pesticides in food in China is still much higher than that in developed countries in the world. Due to the stability, non-degradability and high fat solubility of organochlorine pesticides, the task of detecting and monitoring organochlorine pesticide residues in high-residue foods is still not over. Organophosphorus pesticide: Organophosphorus pesticide is the most widely used pesticide in China at present because of its many control objects, wide application range, rapid degradation in the environment and low residual toxicity. However, studies have shown that these so-called non-persistent pesticides also have a long residue period under certain environmental conditions and accumulate in animals.

2. Other chemical pollution

The potential threat of chemical pollution to food safety has become a problem that cannot be ignored. At present, about 200 chemicals are suspected to have a direct impact on human health. These substances can affect and disturb the endocrine system of organisms and interfere with the original balanced secretion mechanism of organisms, also known as environmental hormones. These substances will accumulate in the body for several years and it is difficult to excrete them. When they reach a certain amount, they will cause pathological changes in human tissues. In recent years, foodborne diseases caused by these chemicals have broken out in all continents of the world. Problems related to food quality and food safety have caused worldwide panic, and at the same time, they have increasingly become the focus of China people's attention. Some food enterprises or some unlicensed production enterprises illegally abuse and use food additives beyond the standard, adding non-edible ingredients or toxic and harmful substances, which has brought serious threats to people's health.

Animal food pollution caused by veterinary drugs and feed additives

With the development of intensive animal husbandry, the scope of action of veterinary drugs is also expanding. Some drugs, such as antibiotics, sulfonamides and hormones, are widely used to promote the growth of meat animals, reduce the incidence, improve the utilization rate of feed and promote the estrus synchronization of female animals. In the application of veterinary drugs, feed additives account for 46%, therapeutic drugs account for 43%, biological drugs such as vaccines account for 1 1%, and antibiotics account for a considerable proportion in feed additives. The extensive use of veterinary drugs has not only brought about the increase of animal husbandry, but also brought about veterinary drug residues and animal food poisoning [5].

Fake and shoddy food is prevalent.

In recent years, fake and shoddy food has been rampant in some areas, especially in rural areas. In Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province in 2002, white sugar was mixed with magnesium sulfate, of which only 30% was white sugar and 30% was magnesium sulfate. In addition, soy sauce is mixed with hair hydrolysate; Inferior drinks and cold food; The surface of the fruit is colored with dyes; Fake with industrial alcohol

Liquor and methanol pass off as liquor, etc. These fake and shoddy foods have seriously affected people's health and made people's diet lack of security.

Potential dangers of genetically modified food

Biotechnology and recombinant DNA technology are considered to be the key technologies to solve the growing food demand in developing countries, so they have been widely used and developed by leaps and bounds. At present, more than ten countries around the world have planted genetically modified crops, mainly soybeans, corn, cotton, rape and potatoes. The safety of genetically modified food has become the focus of attention of experts at home and abroad [6]. It is believed that genes may be transferred between different species through the food chain, and it has become a fact that genetically modified foods sometimes inevitably bring harm to public health. The potential harm caused by genetic and technical instability of genetically modified organisms can not be ignored, and genetically modified foods have brought new challenges to food safety.

(vi) Environmental degradation caused by industrial pollution poses a serious threat to food safety.

With the rapid economic development in China in recent years, environmental problems have followed. Industrial pollution and environmental degradation are very important aspects that affect food safety. Water pollution leads to food-borne diseases, marine pollution directly affects the sanitary quality of seafood, and soil pollution leads to crops rich in harmful substances. Dioxin pollution is caused by burning garbage, and Dioxin is a very important carcinogen in environmental testing.

(seven) containers and packaging materials are unqualified.

Food packaging is an important method to prevent microbial contamination. All kinds of food containers, packaging materials, food tools and equipment that come into direct or indirect contact with food may cause food pollution in the process of food production, processing, storage, transportation and business operation. New food packaging materials have also brought problems to food safety.

(viii) Management deficiencies

The scale and intensification of food production and operation enterprises in China are not high, and their own management level is still low. The laws and regulations promulgated by our country have not yet deterred the producers and sellers of fake and inferior and harmful foods, and the conditions, means and funds for food safety supervision and management can not fully meet the needs of practical work.

Second, the analysis of the causes of existing problems

raw-food material

The increase or improper use of pesticides and veterinary drugs leads to the increase of harmful substances in agricultural products, livestock products and other food production raw materials. These agricultural products and livestock products are directly listed or supplied as raw materials for processing without necessary treatment, which leads to the increasingly serious phenomenon of harmful substances in agricultural products exceeding the standard. At the same time, China lacks agricultural products and livestock products as food raw materials.

The restriction of harmful substances or the lack of mandatory standards make these food raw materials the source of frequent food safety incidents in China.

② Production and processing

A few enterprises and processors ignore the relevant laws and regulations of the state, produce or operate without a license, the production technology is unscientific, there is no strict technological condition constraint, the equipment is poor, the sanitary conditions are poor, and the necessary inspection is not carried out, which directly makes these products flow to the market. Such food affects human health all the time. In some enterprises, the production process is not strictly controlled and the microorganisms are not completely killed, which leads to the residue of pathogenic microorganisms in food or the proliferation of microorganisms in the process of production, storage and transportation, which is harmful to human body and eventually leads to food safety problems. Some enterprises abuse additives in food processing or exceed the standard, use food additives excessively, and even use illegal additives. What's more, non-food substances are mixed in the food processing process. The "Sudan Red" incident in a well-known enterprise in China in 2005 is a typical example. These non-food substances have caused serious harm to human body.

(3) Market and management

The market system is not perfect, which makes the operators who lack the professional quality of food production and management, food hygiene knowledge and perfect production hygiene protection methods enter the marketing. This is one of the main sources of food poisoning and food harm. At the same time, the supervision of products is not strong, and the punishment of food safety incidents is not enough. In China, the penalties for food poisoning and other incidents, illegal business operations and illegal business operations are often fines, suspension of business for rectification or revocation of business licenses. Such punishment can't touch the fundamental interests of criminals. After being punished, these illegal producers or operators will restart their illegal activities in other places and pose a threat to consumers' health again. It can be seen that unfavorable supervision and punishment is one of the important reasons for frequent food poisoning incidents and repeated prohibition of fake and shoddy food. With the improvement of mechanization and scale of grain and food production, and the wide use of chemicals and new technologies, new food safety problems will continue to emerge.

Third, countermeasures to ensure food safety in China

At present, the gap between China's food safety and foreign countries mainly includes the following aspects: lack of systematic background data for food safety monitoring and evaluation; Lack of key detection technology and equipment; Failure to fully adopt risk assessment technology and control technology that meet international standards; The safety research and evaluation of processed foods with new technologies, new processes and new resources are relatively lagging behind; The gap between laws, regulations and standard construction. In order to ensure the good development momentum of China's food safety, we should draw lessons from, summarize and put forward corresponding countermeasures suitable for China's food safety and in line with China's national conditions on the basis of shortening the gap with foreign countries and combining the current situation of China's food safety.

(A) to ensure food safety in China should achieve the goal

Overall goal: control food pollution, reduce food-borne diseases, protect consumers' health and promote economic development [7].

Further improve and perfect China's food safety laws, regulations, standards and management methods, especially to establish clear and unified national norms and standards for agricultural products; Establish an effective food safety supervision and management system in the whole process of food raw materials, processing and manufacturing, storage, transportation and circulation; Gradually form a production license system and market access system for feed, agricultural products and food additives in line with China's national conditions; Strengthen the renewal and transformation of technical equipment of food enterprises through various channels, strengthen technological innovation and foreign technology introduction, and further improve food safety and consumers' trust in products; By adopting advanced inspection methods and instruments, we will improve the level of food safety inspection technology and food safety research in China and gradually approach the level of advanced international countries; Gradually establish China food safety information system.

(B) Countermeasures to ensure food safety in China

China's food safety development countermeasures should have the following characteristics: innovation, advancing with the times; Science, we should use scientific means to solve food safety problems; Strong pertinence, mainly solving the main problems existing in current food safety; Integrity, give full consideration to the importance of inter-departmental cooperation in food safety supervision.

1. Improve the people's awareness of food safety.

Vigorously improve the whole society's understanding of the importance of food safety and the serious harm caused by food safety problems to the people, and carry out food safety education and training for managers, operators and employees of food industry enterprises. At the same time, pay attention to the popularization of food safety knowledge and strengthen publicity and education. Let consumers become the main participants in solving food safety problems. Take food safety as a major event to protect people's health, enhance people's physique, improve people's living standards and ensure social stability. Food operators should strengthen self-discipline awareness [8].

2. Improve and perfect food safety laws, regulations and standards.

Refer to foreign food safety laws and regulations, further revise, supplement and improve national and local food safety-related laws and regulations, and increase the publicity of People's Republic of China (PRC) Food Safety Law. Referring to the food standards of developed countries such as the European Union and the United States, we have formulated effective laws and regulations with China characteristics. At the same time, food safety supervision and management departments should strictly enforce the law and increase enforcement.

3. Accelerate the implementation and improvement of QS certification management system.

1in August 2002, China began to implement the food safety market access system, and food enterprises implemented the production license system, and implemented the compulsory inspection system for the food they produced. The food that has passed the inspection shall be printed with (affixed with) the quality and safety mark, namely the QS mark, before leaving the factory. At present, 28 kinds of food in the food industry have all implemented the market access system [9]. QS certification is an important measure to solve food safety problems in China, and the effectiveness of QS certification system must be based on perfect management and enforcement.