Towards Evidence-Based Food Safety Governance with Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) Technology in China

Pesticide residues in food pose significant risks to public health and have long been a major concern in Chinese cities. The management of these risks is influenced by various factors, including the characteristics of responsible officials. This study tests the relationship between the levels of pesticide residues and the responsible officials' interdisciplinary backgrounds and their tenure cycles, which is crucial for improving food safety governance in Chinese cities. Based on wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and data from 32 Chinese cities, it was found that the interdisciplinary backgrounds of officials had a significant negative relationship with urban pesticide residues in wastewater, indicating that the interdisciplinary knowledge background or working experience of officials in food safety-related agencies was associated with the supervision and control of urban pesticide residues. This study also generated evidence-based knowledge on how to improve food safety through assigning younger and interdisciplinary officials to the responsible governmental agencies, where WBE is more likely to be adopted.