FOOD SAFETY POLICY FIGHTS: A U.S. PERSPECTIVE

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Trends in food safety standards and regulation implications for developing countries

"Food safety is affected by the decisions of producers, processors, distributors, food service operators, and consumers, as well as by government regulations. In developed countries, the demand for higher levels of food safety has led to the implementation of regulatory programs that address more types of safety-related attributes (such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), microbial pathogens, environmental contaminants, and animal drug and pesticide residues) and impose stricter standards for those attributes. They also further prescribe how safety is to be assured and communicated. Liability systems are another form of regulation that affect who bears responsibility when food safety breaks down. These regulatory programs are intended to improve public health by controlling the quality of the domestic food supply and the increasing flow of imported imported food products from countries around the world." from TextFood safety ,food security ,Public health ,

HOW LABELING OF SAFETY AND PROCESS ATTRIBUTES AFFECTS MARKETS FOR FOOD

Consumers are increasingly considering information on the safety and process (how foods are produced) attributes of food in making their buying decisions. Producers, processors, and retailers may choose voluntary labeling of these attributes, may be required to label by government regulations, or may use a combination of these approaches. The market effects depend on consumer perceptions of the attributes, the benefits and costs of labeling for companies, and the goals of government policy. These effects are illustrated through a discussion of labeling of foods that are produced with the use of biotechnology (genetically modified organisms) or that are organically grown.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Expanding the Focus of Cost-Benefit Analysis for Food Safety: A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Approach

A pressing need in the area of food safety is a tool for making overall, macro judgments about which risks should be given priority for management. Governments often seek to base this prioritization on public health impacts only to find that other considerations also influence the prioritization process. A multi-factorial approach formally recognizes that public health, market-level impacts, consumer risk preferences and acceptance, and the social sensitivity of particular risks all play a role in prioritization. It also provides decision makers with a variety of information outputs that allow risk prioritization to be considered along different dimensions. Macro-level prioritization of risks based on multiple factors is an important expanded use of cost-benefit analysis to manage risk.cost-benefit analysis, food safety, risk prioritization

Standards-as-Barriers versus Standards-as-Catalysts: Assessing the Impact of HACCP Implementation on U.S. Seafood Imports

The United States mandated a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety standard for seafood in 1997. Panel model results for the period 1990 to 2004 suggest that HACCP introduction had a negative and significant impact on overall seafood imports from the top 33 suppliers. While the effect for developed countries was positive, the negative HACCP effect for developing countries supports the view of “standards-as-barriers” versus ”standards-as-catalysts.” When the effect is analyzed at an individual country level a different perspective emerges. Regardless of development status, leading seafood exporters generally gained sales volume with the U.S., while most other smaller trading partners faced losses or stagnant sales.food standards, international trade, developed and developing countries

Assessing the Impact of Stricter Food Safety Standards on Trade: HACCP in U.S. Seafood Trade with the Developing World

Health risks associated with seafood products prompted the introduction of mandatory HACCP in the seafood industry in the United States in 1997. This paper quantifies the trade impact of this introduction by analyzing patterns of seafood imports to the U.S. over the period 1990 to 2004. The results of a gravity model using panel data suggest that HACCP had a negative and significant impact on overall seafood imports from the top 33 developing and developed countries selling into the U.S. For developing countries, the results support the view of "standards-as-barriers" versus "standards-as-catalysts" as the negative HACCP effect was experienced by developing countries, while the effect for developed countries was positive.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Interaction Between Food Attributes in Markets: The Case of Environmental Labeling

Some consumers derive utility from using products produced with specific processes, such as environmentally friendly practices. Means of verifying these credence attributes, such as certification, are necessary for the market to function effectively. A substitute or complementary solution may exist when consumers perceive a relationship between a process attribute and other verifiable product attributes. We present a model where the level of search and experience attributes influences the likelihood of production of eco-friendly products. Our results suggest that the market success of eco-friendly food products requires a mix of environmental and other verifiable attributes that together signal credibility.environmental labeling, food attributes, food marketing, quality perception, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Consumer Demand for Quality: Major Determinant for Agricultural and Food Trade in the Future?

The impact of consumer demand for quality on the agricultural and food system is an increased emphasis on quality differentiation but not all in the direction of upgrading quality. The more elite market segments are thriving and reaching growing numbers of consumers but the basic price/quality markets remain strong. Most recent economic studies find that consumers are willing to pay for food safety and other quality attributes, and for information about them. The magnitude of the valuations varies by food product, attribute, country, and study design. This literature and a case study of genetically modified foods suggest that consumer demand has a strong effect on agricultural and food trade.food quality, food safety, consumer demand, willingness to pay, international trade

The Benefits and Costs of Proliferation of Geographical Labeling for Developing Countries

Food product attributes related to geographical origins are a topical issue in global food trade. The provision of geographical labeling may occur through geographical indications under the mandated trade rules of the TRIPS Agreement, through trademarks, or through country-of-origin labeling. The overall effect of the expansion of geographical labeling on developing countries depends on a complex mix of market opportunities that may yield substantial benefits as well as implementation costs. Increasingly, the analysis of this overall effect will need to evaluate the joint impacts of different forms of geographical labeling on the market position of developing countries.developing countries, geographical labeling, international trade, TRIPS, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade,

SURVEY INSTRUMENTS FOR A COST STUDY OF HACCP IN THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY

The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approach to assuring food safety was first mandated in the United States in 1995 for the seafood industry, with full implementation to take place by December, 1997. The survey instruments included in this Working Paper were developed as part of a cost analysis of the adoption of HACCP in the Seafood Industry. The purpose of the survey was to quantify the change in costs that average seafood companies experienced during the first year of HACCP adoption.HACCP, costs of adoption, survey instruments, seafood industry, Demand and Price Analysis,