Editor's note

• Author: ZHU Xiao
• Pages: 161-161

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 12 JUNE 2017 NO. 2

DOI 10.3868/s050-006-017-0010-2

FOCUS

FOOD SAFETY AND FREE TRADE

EDITOR’S NOTE

ZHU Xiao*

Food safety concerns have long been a frequent cause of disputes in food trades. To

address this issue effectively, international laws and domestic laws should coordinate in

order to provide a comprehensive legal framework on this issue. On one hand,

international trade laws should be established and clarified to promote consistency on

domestic food safety laws of different countries. On the other hand, domestic food safety

laws should proactively identify the status and trend of international trade laws and

foreign laws in order to avoid potential disputes. Efforts on both sides are necessary for

achieving the two-fold goals of food safety and free trade.

For an in-depth discussion on food safety and free trade, we have invited several

domestic and foreign scholars to discuss the subject matter. Professor Michael Blakeney

from the University of Western Australia explores the justifications of the protection of

geographical indications (GIs), and found out that GIs applied to agricultural products

indicated their purity and traceability from an environmental protection perspective. He

then points out that the international GIs regime provides an important means to this end.

Professor LI Yanfang and Ph.D. candidate WU Kaijie compared the source-control

measures and end-control measures for better regulations of edible agricultural product

safety in the context of food trade. They have concluded that agricultural producing area

regulation at source is necessary and should be improved. Professor ZHANG Jiyu

discusses the connection between the legal protection of new plant variety from the

perspective of food safety and environmental protection. Like many modern technologies,

the development of new plant varieties is a double-edged sword with the benefit of

promoting plant breeding on one hand and the risk concerns arise will be the downside.

She suggests that the legal system and the market should function together in order to

provide both proper regulation and incentives for innovation.

* (竺效) Ph.D. in Environmental Law, School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing,

China; Professor in Environmental Law, School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China.

Contact: x.zhu@ruc.edu.cn