Evolution and Logic of China’s Food Safety Governance System: An Analysis Based on Historical Institutionalism

Food safety is not only important for the nation, but also for its people. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the governance of food safety in our country has undergone comprehensive and profound transformations. This article conducts an in-depth analysis of the evolution of China’s food safety governance system from the perspective of historical institutionalism. Within the structural framework of historical institutionalism, the process of institutional change is influenced by factors such as the macro-social background, meso-level ideas, and micro-level actors. The evolution of China’s food safety governance system can be divided into five stages: the administrative control system led by the food sector (1949-1978), the mixed governance system led by the health department (1979-2002), the multi-departmental parallel segment-wise governance system (2003-2012), the professional governance system led by the food and drug administration (2013-2017), and the comprehensive governance system led by market regulatory authorities (2018 to present). From a historical institutionalist perspective, the evolution of the system reveals a profounder internal logic. Under the constraints of path dependence as well as the joint influence of external key nodes and internal adaptations, China’s food safety governance system exhibits a continuous interaction between institutional balance and institutional transformation, demonstrating strong institutional resilience.