Institutional Dilemmas of and Innovative Paths for Public Participation in Food Safety Risk Governance

Effective governance of food safety risks cannot be achieved without extensive public participation. Extensive public participation in food safety risk governance can not only enhance its efficiency but also embody the democratic rights of the people in specific scenarios. The current system of public participation in food safety risk governance is mainly manifested in participation in the legislative process, “accusations, tip-offs, reports and complaints”, and the stipulation of public participation rights. In the current food safety risk governance, public participation faces problems such as insufficient information disclosure in the dimension of information acquisition, limited breadth and depth of participation in the dimension of system operation, and incomplete legal norms in the dimension of system guarantee. Therefore, it is necessary to build an innovative system for public participation covering the whole chain of “input-operation-guarantee”. At the input end, we should construct a “full-chain and all-around” food safety risk information disclosure system, establish a mechanism for tilted burden of proof and evidence acquisition, and innovate public education on food safety. At the operation end, we should build a unified and standardized public reporting system, establish a mechanism for the substantive embedding of public interest demands, and strengthen the guidance and guarantee for media and public opinion supervision. At the guarantee end, we should improve the supporting incentive system for public supervision, appropriately relax restrictions on the subject qualification of public interest litigation, and improve the punitive damages system to enhance its deterrent effect.