Abstract: Live-streaming e-commerce has developed into an important new business model within China’s food distribution sector. While driving the digital transformation of the food industry and promoting consumption upgrading, this model has increasingly become a new carrier for the concentration and cross-regional spread of food safety risks. At present, food business operations in live-streaming e-commerce commonly face governance challenges such as false claims by streamers, an imperfect food traceability system, high consumer rights protection costs, and prominent difficulties in industry supervision, posing severe challenges to the existing regulatory system. Against this backdrop, this paper systematically reviews the current pain points in food safety management within the live-streaming e-commerce sector and clarifies the rights and responsibilities of multiple governance entities, bridging regulatory gaps in the industry and enhancing the ability to identify and address food safety risks. This review can provide effective references for establishing and improving a long-term supervision mechanism for food live streaming, and ensuring public food safety and consumer rights. Meanwhile, it can promote the standardized and high-quality integrated development of live-streaming e-commerce and the food industry.

Key words: live-streaming e-commerce; food safety; risk governance; social co-governance