Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Economics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Food safety

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Economics

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 …


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 …


Survey Instrument For Case Studies Of Food Safety Innovation, Elisabete Salay, Julie A. Caswell, Tanya Roberts Jan 2003

Survey Instrument For Case Studies Of Food Safety Innovation, Elisabete Salay, Julie A. Caswell, Tanya Roberts

PERI Working Papers

Firms innovate to prevent the presence of microbial pathogens in foods and to address other safety problems. To date, studies on the economics of food safety innovation are relatively rare. We designed a series of case studies of such innovation in the meat industry. Our objectives were to identify and analyze different types of innovation, the drivers of innovation, the mode of innovation development, and the impact of innovation on food safety and firm performance. Here we present the survey instrument developed to conduct the case studies. This instrument can be applied, with minor modifications to reflect research objectives, to …


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.