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Impacts Of The Food Safety Modernization Act On On-Farm Food Safety Practices For Small And Sustainable Produce Growers, Aaron Adalja, Erik Lichtenberg Nov 2017

Impacts Of The Food Safety Modernization Act On On-Farm Food Safety Practices For Small And Sustainable Produce Growers, Aaron Adalja, Erik Lichtenberg

Aaron Adalja

We use data from a national survey of fruit and vegetable growers to examine the current prevalence and cost burden of food safety practices required in the proposed Produce Rule implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act. In particular, we analyze the influence of farm size and farming practices on the probability of adopting food safety measures that would be required by the Produce Rule; and we analyze how the costs of using those food safety practices vary by farm size and farm practices. Majorities of our respondents currently employ most of the food safety practices that would be required under …


Adoption And Coexistence Of Ge, Conventional Non-Ge, And Organic Crops, Aaron Adalja, Catherine Greene, James Hanson, Robert Ebel, Michael Barron Nov 2017

Adoption And Coexistence Of Ge, Conventional Non-Ge, And Organic Crops, Aaron Adalja, Catherine Greene, James Hanson, Robert Ebel, Michael Barron

Aaron Adalja

The adoption of genetically engineered (GE) crop varieties by U.S. farmers is widespread for major crops—94 percent of planted acres for soybeans, and 88 percent for corn in 2012 (USDA-NASS 2012). The potential exists for GE crop production to impose costs on organic and conventional non-GE production via unintended presence of GE material along the supply chain through: • Contamination of seed stock • Accidental cross-pollination • Accidental co-mingling during planting, harvesting, handling, and storing of crops (Bullock and Desquilbet 2002). Maintaining the integrity of GE-differentiated product markets relies on segregation protocols such as: • Hybrid selection and seed purity …


Exponential Growth, Animal Welfare, Environmental And Food Safety Impact: The Case Of China’S Livestock Production, Peter J. Li Jul 2016

Exponential Growth, Animal Welfare, Environmental And Food Safety Impact: The Case Of China’S Livestock Production, Peter J. Li

Peter J. Li, PhD

Developmental states are criticized for rapid “industrialization without enlightenment.” In the last 30 years, China’s breathtaking growth has been achieved at a high environmental and food safety cost. This article, utilizing a recent survey of China’s livestock industry, illustrates the initiating role of China’s developmental state in the exponential expansion of the country’s livestock production. The enthusiastic response of the livestock industry to the many state policy incentives has made China the world’s biggest animal farming nation. Shortage of meat and dairy supply is history. Yet, the Chinese government is facing new challenges of no less a threat to political …


Amyloid Fibrils: Potential Food Safety Implications, Michael Greger May 2014

Amyloid Fibrils: Potential Food Safety Implications, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

The demonstration of oral Amyloid-A (AA) fibril transmissibility has raised food safety questions about the consumption of amyloidotic viscera. In a presumed prion-like mechanism, amyloid fibrils have been shown to trigger and accelerate the development of AA amyloidosis in rodent models. The finding of amyloid fibrils in edible avian and mammalian food animal tissues, combined with the inability of cooking temperatures to eliminate their amyloidogenic potential, has led to concerns that products such as pâté de foie gras may activate a reactive systemic amyloidosis in susceptible consumers. Given the ability of amyloid fibrils to cross-seed the formation of chemically heterologous …


Melamine Contamination Of Infant Formula In China: The Causes, Food Safety Issues And Public Health Implications, Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa Nov 2008

Melamine Contamination Of Infant Formula In China: The Causes, Food Safety Issues And Public Health Implications, Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa

Professor Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa

No abstract provided.


Optimal Choice Of Voluntary Traceability As A Food Risk Management Tool, Dm Souza Monteiro,, Julie Caswell Aug 2008

Optimal Choice Of Voluntary Traceability As A Food Risk Management Tool, Dm Souza Monteiro,, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

Traceability systems are information tools implemented within and between firms in food chains to improve logistics and transparency or to reduce total food safety damage costs. Information about location and condition of products is critical when food safety incidents arise. This paper uses a principal-agent model to investigate the optimal choice of voluntary traceability in terms of precision of information on a given attribute at each link of a food chain. The results suggest that four scenarios may emerge for the supply chain depending on the costs of a system and whether or not the industry can internalize total food …


Food Fears: A National Survey On The Attitudes Of Australian Adults About The Safety And Quality Of Food, P. G. Williams, E. Stirling, N. Keynes May 2008

Food Fears: A National Survey On The Attitudes Of Australian Adults About The Safety And Quality Of Food, P. G. Williams, E. Stirling, N. Keynes

Peter Williams

A national telephone survey of a representative sample of 1200 Australian adults was conducted in March 2002 in order to identify the factors of greatest concern to consumers in relation to the safety and quality of food, to measure recent trends in views about hazards in the food supply, to explore beliefs about the safety of additives and to discover whether consumers use food labels to check for ingredients of concern. Forty five percent of Australians responded that they were more concerned about the safety and quality of food than they were five years previously, while only 5% were less …


Expanding The Focus Of Cost-Benefit Analysis For Food Safety: A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Approach, Julie Caswell Jan 2008

Expanding The Focus Of Cost-Benefit Analysis For Food Safety: A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Approach, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

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 …


Consumer Demand For Quality: Major Determinant For Agricultural And Food Trade In The Future?, Julie Caswell Jan 2008

Consumer Demand For Quality: Major Determinant For Agricultural And Food Trade In The Future?, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

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 …


Consumer Demand For Quality: Major Determinant For Agricultural And Food Trade In The Future?, Julie Caswell Jan 2007

Consumer Demand For Quality: Major Determinant For Agricultural And Food Trade In The Future?, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

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 …


Food Safety Innovation In The United States Evidence From The Meat Industry, Elise Golan, Tanya Roberts, Elisabete Salay, Julie Caswell, Michael Ollinger, Danna Moore Jan 2004

Food Safety Innovation In The United States Evidence From The Meat Industry, Elise Golan, Tanya Roberts, Elisabete Salay, Julie Caswell, Michael Ollinger, Danna Moore

Julie Caswell

Recent industry innovations improving the safety of the Nation’s meat supply range from new pathogen tests, high-tech equipment, and supply chain management systems, to new surveillance networks. Despite these and other improvements, the market incentives that motivate private firms to invest in innovation seem to be fairly weak. Results from an ERS survey of U.S. meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants and two case studies of innovation in the U.S. beef industry reveal that the industry has developed a number of mechanisms to overcome that weakness and to stimulate investment in food safety innovation. Industry experience suggests that government …


The Genius Of The Nation Versus The Gene-Tech Of The Nation: Science, Identity, And Gmo Debates In Hungary, Krista Harper Jan 2004

The Genius Of The Nation Versus The Gene-Tech Of The Nation: Science, Identity, And Gmo Debates In Hungary, Krista Harper

Krista M. Harper

Introduction In the late 1990s, Hungarian politicians, environmentalists, and agricultural lobbyists weighed the pros and cons of allowing genetically modified (GM) food and seeds to enter the Hungarian market. Starting around 1994, a small group of Hungarian environmentalists began researching GM issues. Initially, they feared that as a post-socialist country seeking foreign investment, Hungary would become prey to multinational corporations seeking an ‘emerging market’ with a lax regulatory environment. The terms of the debate were reframed over time, notably following 1998, when a number of European Union member states banned the imports of GM foods and when Hungarian expatriate geneticist …


Using Informational Labeling To Influence The Market For Quality In Food Products, Julie Caswell Jul 1996

Using Informational Labeling To Influence The Market For Quality In Food Products, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

In the United States, the federal government is increasingly using requirements for informational labeling on food products to influence 1) consumers' knowledge and purchasing patterns and 2) manufacturers' product offerings and marketing practices. We discuss the economic rationale behind these regulations and issues related to judging their success or failure.