AbstractFood safety issues constitute an international topic discussed by many scholars. Although there is an extensive body ofliterature on comparisons of food safety control practices across different governance structures, these studies have beenconducted mainly in terms of qualitative and descriptive analysis. In addition, little attention has been given to family farms.This study addresses the food safety control practices adopted by firms with different governance structures in China. Foodsafety control is expressed by the following aspects, i.e., pollution-free, green, organic, and/or geographical indication productscertification, establishment of production records, and pesticide residue testing. Three types of governance structuresthat engage in agricultural production are distinguished: farmer cooperatives, agricultural companies, and family farms.The food safety control practices of various governance structures are investigated based on a database that comprises600 vegetable and fruit enterprises in Zhejiang, China. The results show that (1) pesticide residue testing is adopted bythe most firms, followed by products certification, and production records are adopted by the fewest firms, and (2) agriculturalcompanies adopt more food safety control practices than family farms, while farmer cooperatives adopt the fewestfood safety control practices. Governance structure features of a cooperative in terms of ownership, decision-making, andincome distribution are the main reasons for the low level of food safety control in the cooperative.Keywords: food safety control, governance structure, farmer cooperative, agricultural company, family farm