Meat Slaughter and Processing Plants' Traceability Levels: Evidence from Iowa

Based on an econometric analysis of the data obtained from a survey of meat plants (n=53 ) in Iowa in summer 2007, this paper identifies the factors impacting the meat plants’ voluntary adoption of forward and backward traceability activities. The results suggest that the ownership type (corporate versus independent) and operations type (slaughtering versus not) matter rather than the size and meat type produced (beef, pork, or poultry) as suggested in the previous surveys. Furthermore, food safety activities appear to be complementary to traceability activities. The findings may assist ongoing regulatory efforts in implementing traceability in U.S. in the near future.country of origin labeling; food safety; multiple imputation method; national animal identification system; ordered logistic regression; quality assurances; traceability

De-commoditizing Ethiopian coffees after the establishment of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange : an empirical investigation of smallholder coffee producers in Ethiopia

The repercussions of reforming an agricultural market are mainly observed at the most vulnerable segment of the value chain, namely, the producers. In the current commodity market created with trade through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), coffee is less traceable to its producers. Only cooperatives that sell certified coffee through the unions they belong to, are allowed to bypass the more commodified ECX market. This study aims to investigate if small-scale coffee producers in southwestern Ethiopia that sell coffee through the certified cooperative are better off. It is assumed that the coffee sales through, and membership of, a cooperative, allows farmers to improve their coffee production as well as to improve other aspects of their livelihood. A sustainable livelihood approach was used as the inspiration for the welfare indicators that needed to be considered, data collected amongst members and non-members of certified cooperatives, and a propensity score model to investigate the impact of cooperative membership on the livelihood indicators. Results suggest that members of certified cooperatives indeed receive, on average, better prices. Yet, no evidence was found that indicates that the higher price is translated into better household income. Furthermore, coffee plantation productivity of those members who were interviewed was lower than that of the non-members. This finding could explain the failure to find an overall effect. Since the majority of the producers' income emanate from coffee, a sustainable way of enhancing the productivity of the coffee could revitalize the welfare of the coffee producers

DNA barcoding as a molecular tool to track down mislabeling and food piracy

DNA barcoding is a molecular technology that allows the identification of any biological species by amplifying, sequencing and querying the information from genic and/or intergenic standardized target regions belonging to the extranuclear genomes. Although these sequences represent a small fraction of the total DNA of a cell, both chloroplast and mitochondrial barcodes chosen for identifying plant and animal species, respectively, have shown sufficient nucleotide diversity to assess the taxonomic identity of the vast majority of organisms used in agriculture. Consequently, cpDNA and mtDNA barcoding protocols are being used more and more in the food industry and food supply chains for food labeling, not only to support food safety but also to uncover food piracy in freshly commercialized and technologically processed products. Since the extranuclear genomes are present in many copies within each cell, this technology is being more easily exploited to recover information even in degraded samples or transformed materials deriving from crop varieties and livestock species. The strong standardization that characterizes protocols used worldwide for DNA barcoding makes this technology particularly suitable for routine analyses required by agencies to safeguard food safety and quality. Here we conduct a critical review of the potentials of DNA barcoding for food labeling along with the main findings in the area of food piracy, with particular reference to agrifood and livestock foodstuffs

TRACEABILITY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE MEAT SUPPLY CHAIN: IMPLICATIONS FOR FIRM ORGANIZATION AND MARKET STRUCTURE

The traditional food supply chain is arranged as a complex array of producers, handlers, processors, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. As the food supply chain grew in complexity over time, little emphasis was placed on preserving information regarding the origin of raw materials and their transformation, often by multiple handlers, into consumer-ready products. This paper provides case illustrations of the implementation of information systems for support of traceability in Europe. Observations on these firms coupled with the literature on information asymmetry and transactions costs is used to provide insights into how traceability implementation might affect U.S. meat-industry structure.Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Consumer preferences for country-of-origin and health claim labelling of extra-virgin olive-oil

Although several studies have investigated consumer preferences for olive oil country-of-origin labelling (COOL), very little is known on consumers’ preferences for new health claims (EC Reg. n. 1924/2006). This paper aims to analyse the introduction of these attributes, providing more insights into Italian consumer perception and preferences for different extra-virgin olive oil labelling schemes. After preliminary focus group and in-depth personal interviews with representatives of retailers and producers’ organizations, a choice experiment (CE) was employed on a sample of Italian consumers to analyse preferences for different extra-virgin olive oils. CE methodology allows to weight the relative importance of any given attribute for consumers, measuring the effects of interaction between different attributes. It can also provide an estimation of the marginal willingness to pay (WTP), or part-worth, of an attribute, such as health claim or indication of origin. The results provide supply chain actors with valuable information to develop marketing strategies, as well as concrete evidence for policy makers of consumers understanding of health claims and COOL labelling.choice experiment (CE), extra-virgin olive oil, health claims, country-of-origin labelling (COOL)., Marketing,

Governance Reform of German food safety regulation: Cosmetic or real?

Discussion of institutional changes made by the German government in response to the emergence of the first cases of BSE in Germany in 2000. Due to the establishment of a large-scale private sector quality assurance scheme, regulation moved away from publicly mandated food safety regulations toward industry-led initiatives (so-called QS system). The paper discusses whether changes in regulation, administration, and liability standards have improved the effectiveness and the allocative efficiency of German food safety regulation.standards, contested governance, quality assurance, liability, food safety regulation, QS system, regulation, Germany

TRACEABILITY IN THE U.S. FOOD SUPPLY: ECONOMIC THEORY AND INDUSTRY STUDIES

This investigation into the traceability baseline in the United States finds that private sector food firms have developed a substantial capacity to trace. Traceability systems are a tool to help firms manage the flow of inputs and products to improve efficiency, product differentiation, food safety, and product quality. Firms balance the private costs and benefits of traceability to determine the efficient level of traceability. In cases of market failure, where the private sector supply of traceability is not socially optimal, the private sector has developed a number of mechanisms to correct the problem, including contracting, third-party safety/quality audits, and industry-maintained standards. The best-targeted government policies for strengthening firms' incentives to invest in traceability are aimed at ensuring that unsafe of falsely advertised foods are quickly removed from the system, while allowing firms the flexibility to determine the manner. Possible policy tools include timed recall standards, increased penalties for distribution of unsafe foods, and increased foodborne-illness surveillance.traceability, tracking, traceback, tracing, recall, supply-side management, food safety, product differentiation, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization,