Economics of Food Safety

Public concern about the safety and healthfulness of the food supply grew markedly during the 1980s. Numerous government, academic, interest group, and media reports questioning the adequacy of the food safety regulatory system formed the basis for this increase in concern. While public concern focused most directly on pesticide residues in food, scientists emphasized the risks of illness associated with microbiological contamination of food. Much additional attention was focused on the food supply as a result of the striking consensus on dietary recommendations that emerged in the late 1980s based on increased scientific knowledge of linkages between diet and health. Relatively little research on the economic aspects of food safety and nutrition issues had been conducted up to the mid-1980s. These aspects are complex. On the consumer demand side, they include consumers' perceptions of the risks associated with particular food products, how demographic characteristics influence consumers' processing of risk information and subsequent changes in food demand behavior, and the monetary value consumers might place on changes in the risk profiles of products. The economic benefits and costs associated with current food consumption patterns are a major determinant of demand for improved food safety and dietary change through government regulation. While a more complete picture of risks, benefits, and costs has been emerging recently, much is yet unknown. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Consumer Demand for Food and Food Safety: Models and Applications....Pages 3-27 Modeling the Effect of Risk on Food Demand and the Implications for Regulation....Pages 29-44 A Model of the Demand and Supply of the Health Effects of Food Substances....Pages 45-66 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 Modeling Chronic Versus Acute Human Health Risk from Contaminants in Food....Pages 69-87 Conservatism in Risk Assessment and Food Safety Policy....Pages 89-102 Risk Assessment for Estimating the Economic Costs of Foodborne Disease Caused by Microorganisms....Pages 103-129 An Economic Framework for Assessing Foodborne Disease Control Strategies with an Application to Salmonella Control in Poultry....Pages 131-151 Front Matter....Pages 153-153 The Impact of Health Risk Information on Food Demand: A Case Study of Alar and Apples....Pages 155-174 Consumers’ Perceptions of Risks from Pesticide Residues and Demand for Certification of Residue-Free Produce....Pages 175-188 Consumer Reaction to the Introduction of Bovine Somatotropin....Pages 189-210 Information, Advertising, and Health Choices: A Study of the Cereal Market....Pages 211-246 Assessing the Effects of Diet/Health Awareness on the Consumption and Composition of Fat Intake....Pages 247-270 Front Matter....Pages 271-271 Firm Strategic Response to Food Safety and Nutrition Regulation....Pages 273-297 A Model of Firm Costs of Compliance with Food Labeling Regulations....Pages 299-325 An Economic Model of FDA’s Imported Foods Enforcement Program....Pages 327-354 Back Matter....Pages 355-356 This book is a result of the national workshop, "The economics of food safety" held in 1990. It represents the first comprehensive look on the full scope of issues related to the economics of food safety and nutrition. The text is divided into four parts: (1) modeling consumer demand for food safety and nutrition; (2) application of risk assessment methodology to food safety; (3) measurement of consumer response to safety and health information; and (4) analysis of the supply of food safety