Structural Change in the Meat and Poultry Industry and the Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Rule

This paper uses plant-level micro-data covering the 1987-2002 and a translog cost function to estimate long-run costs in the meat and poultry industry in order to evaluate the impact of the Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Rule on cattle, hog and chicken slaughter and prepared pork products and sausage-making industries. Results suggest that costs rose in the cattle and hog slaughter and prepared pork products industries and the cost shares of meat declined and of labor and capital rose. There is little evidence that events over the period favored large or small plants.food safety, structural change, regulation, industrial organization, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization,

The Cost of Food Safety Technologies in the Meat and Poultry Industries.

This paper uses plant-level micro-data from the 2002 Census of Manufactures, Food Safety Inspection Service, and the Economic Research Service in a translog cost function to examine the costs of effort devoted to the performance of sanitation and process control tasks and levels of food safety technology use. Results suggest that more effort devoted to performance of sanitation and process control tasks and greater use of food safety technologies modestly reduce long run costs.food safety, food safety technologies, translog cost function, long run costs, meat and poultry industry, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Production Economics,

THE IMPACT OF MARKET MECHANISMS AND HACCP REGULATION ON FOOD SAFETY QUALITY

Economists have long debated the relative effectiveness of markets and regulations in reaching socially desirable outcomes. This empirical study of meat and poultry food safety regulation suggests that market mechanisms and flexible regulatory instruments, e.g. HACCP systems, have a greater impact on food safety quality than less flexible regulatory instruments. Subject code: 9 (Food Safety and Nutrition).Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE MOTIVES FOR MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IN EIGHT FOOD INDUSTRIES

This paper investigates the motives for mergers and acquisitions in eight U.S. food products industries from1977-92. Results show that acquired plants were highly productive before mergers and realized an increase in productivity growth in the post-merger period.Food product industries, mergers and acquisitions, labor productivity., Agribusiness,

AJAE Appendix: Mergers and Acquisitions and Productivity in the U.S. Meat Products Industries

The material contained herein is supplementary to the article named in the title and published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Volume 88, Number 3, August 2006.Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

The economic forces driving the costs of food safety regulation

The cost of compliance with the Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis Critical Control Program (PR/HACCP) rule of 1996 has been controversial from the time it was first proposed. Recent survey evidence indicates costs of about $0.01 per pound. These estimates may capture actual costs but do not indicate how different components of the rule itself, such as HACCP tasks, and indirect influences, such as plant size, affect costs differently. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine these direct and indirect influences. Preliminary results suggest that plant size has a small, if any influence on costs. The most substantial direct cost is the cost of performing sanitation and tasks associated with a plant's HACCP process control plan.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

INNOVATION AND REGULATION IN THE PESTICIDE INDUSTRY

This paper examines the impact of pesticide regulation on the number of new pesticide registrations and pesticide toxicity. Results suggest that regulation adversely affects new pesticide introductions but encourages the development of pesticides with fewer toxic side effects. The estimated regression model implies that a 10% increase in regulatory costs (about $1.5 million per pesticide) causes a 5% reduction in the number of pesticides with higher toxicity.Agribusiness,

STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN U.S. CHICKEN AND TURKEY SLAUGHTER

Cost function analyses using data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census reveal substantial scale economies in chicken and turkey slaughter. These economies show no evidence of diminishing as plant size increases, are much greater than those realized in cattle and hog slaughter, and have resulted in a huge increase in plant size over the 1972-92 period. The findings also suggest that consolidation in the chicken and turkey slaughter industry is likely to continue, particularly if the growth in the demand for poultry diminishes.chicken slaughter, turkey slaughter, production costs, structural change, Livestock Production/Industries,

MEAT AND POULTRY PLANTS' FOOD SAFETY INVESTMENTS: SURVEY FINDINGS

Results from the first national survey of the types and amounts of food safety investments made by meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants since the late 1990s provide evidence that market forces have worked in conjunction with regulation to promote the use of more sophisticated food safety technologies. From 1996 through 2000, U.S. plants as a group spent about $380 million annually and made$570 million in long-term investments to comply with USDA's 1996 Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) regulation, according to a survey initiated by the Economic Research Service. The U.S. meat and poultry industry as a whole during the same time period spent an additional $360 million on food safety investments that were not required by the PR/HACCP rule. Implementation of the regulation began in 1997 and was mandated by early 2000 in all sizes and types of meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants. The full HACCP surveys referenced in this technical bulletin are available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/haccpsurveyFood Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

School Food Service Costs: Does Location Matter?

Over 30 million lunches and 9.8 million breakfasts are served every day to children in participating American schools through the USDA National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. It is challenging for participating local school food authorities (SFAs) to serve appealing, healthful meals while covering food, labor, and other operating costs with USDA reimbursements. But it may be more difficult for some SFAs than others due to cost differences across locations. Analysis of data from a large national sample reveals that after controlling for differences in SFA characteristics, sharp differences in costs remained among rural, urban, and suburban SFAs and across regions. The highest costs occurred in Mid-Atlantic, suburban SFAs and the lowest cost existed in southwest, urban SFAs. Differences in food costs explained the largest share of this variation.school meal costs, cost function, SFA, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,