Overview
ERS provides analyses of the economic issues affecting the safety of the
U.S. food supply, including the effectiveness and equity of alternative
policies and programs designed to protect consumers from unsafe food:
Related Briefing Room
Features
Food Safety Innovation in the United States: Evidence from the Meat IndustryRecent 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. The report's findings are summarized in a two-page Research Brief. There's also a related Amber Waves article, Savvy Buyers Spur Food Safety Innovations in Meat Processing.
International
Trade and Food Safety: Economic Theory and Case StudiesThis
report examines the conceptual relationships between food safety and international
trade and analyzes empirical examples from the meat and poultry, produce,
food and animal feed crop, and seafood sectors. The article, Food
Safety and Trade: Regulations, Risks, and Reconciliation, in the November
2003 issue of Amber Waves, highlights
the findings. There are also summaries available as Food Safety and International Trade—Research Briefs.
Managing
for Safer Food: The Economics of Sanitation and Process Controls in Meat
and Poultry PlantsSanitation and process controls raised the
costs of producing meat and poultry by about 0.5 percent under food safety
standards prior to the 1996 Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point (PR/HACCP) rule. There was no benefit, however, in trying
to avoid these food safety quality control costs before 1996, since plants
with poor performance records were more likely to exit their industry.
Estimates also suggest that PR/HACCP raised production costs by about
1 percent, but that benefits of HACCP still outweigh costs. The article, Weighing
Incentives for Food Safety in Meat and Poultry, in the April 2003
issue of Amber Waves highlights these
findings, showing how more stringent regulation and changes in the marketplace
have improved food safety, despite the rise in meat and poultry recalls.
ERS estimated the cost for five bacterial foodborne pathogens as $6.9 billionIn 2000, ERS estimated
human illness costs for five bacterial pathogens: Campylobacter, Salmonella (nontyphoidal serotypes only), E. coli O157 and
non-O157 STEC, and Listeria monocytogenes.
ERS estimates the economic
benefits and costs of HACCPIn 2000, ERS estimated that HACCP
benefits would outweigh costs, even for the lowest range of benefits,
in combating foodborne diseases caused by four pathogens.
Recommended Readings
Consumer Food Safety Behavior: A Case
Study in Hamburger Cooking and OrderingPromoting the benefits
to consumers of following food safety recommendations appears to be influencing
cooking and eating behavior. More Americans are eating their hamburgers
more thoroughly cooked than before, according to several national surveys.
This report examines changes in hamburger preparation behavior, the reasons
for the changes, the medical costs saved as a result, and the implications
for future food safety education.
Foodborne Illness
Jury Trials Have Better Chance of Success, Higher Awards
by Identifying Specific PathogensLess than a
third of the jury verdicts tracked by ERS from 1988-97
awarded compensation to plaintiffs in foodborne illness
cases. Plaintiffs who alleged illness from a specific
pathogen were more likely to receive compensation (42
percent) than plaintiffs who did not, and the expected
award was far higher when a specific pathogen or illness
was alleged ($82,333 vs. $4,554). Salmonella was
the most frequently cited pathogen, followed by hepatitis
(any type).
Food Safety
Efforts Accelerate in the 1990'sThe developments in food safety
policy during the last decade have helped the Nation make progress in
the goal of ensuring the safest possible food supply. Changes in regulations
governing food production and responses by producers have helped control
and reduce risks from microbial pathogens. New research and surveillance
efforts have helped us better determine the extent of foodborne illness
in the United States and the most important sources of food safety risks.
Educational efforts have increased public awareness and enabled consumers
to protect themselves from foodborne diseases.
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
A Survey of Meat and Poultry Slaughter and Processing PlantsERS,
along with Washington State University, conducted two surveys about food
safety technologies and Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis Critical Control
Point (PR/HACCP) compliance. One survey was answered by 861 meat slaughter
and processors, the other by 135 poultry slaughter and processors. The
survey queried processors about several facets of their operations: the
effects of the PR/HACCP rule on plant operations and costs, plant characteristics,
miscellaneous questions, and food safety questions dealing with plant
operations, sanitation, equipment, product and environmental testing,
and dehiding (cattle slaughter only). Summary results from the survey
may be found here, as well as the original survey forms. The report, Meat and Poultry Plants' Food Safety Investments: Survey Findings, is also available.
Foodborne Illness Cost CalculatorThis interactive online cost model provides information on the assumptions behind ERS estimates for the cost of foodborne illness and gives you the chance to make alternative assumptions and calculate new estimates. Use the calculator to estimate foodborne illness costs for your State or region, a particular outbreak, or to see how cost estimates would change under different assumptions about disease incidence, outcome severity, and the level of medical, productivity, and disutility costs.
Hamburger Doneness and Consumer PreferencesProvides information from two 1996 national survey modules
on consumer doneness choices, cooking methods, attitudes toward foodborne
illness and sensory characteristics of hamburgers, and food safety information
sources.
Recent Research Developments
Measuring the benefits of
safer foodERS established an extramural research program to measure the benefits of safer food in 1999. Following a competitive selection process, funding from a special appropriation was awarded for two cooperative research agreements to apply state-of-the-art economic analysis to estimate the benefits of improving food safety.
Newsletters
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available by subscribing to our e-mail updates.
Be sure to check the "Diet, Health, and Safety " box.
Related Links
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS)Information on regulation and inspection in the meat
and poultry industry.
NE-165 Regional Research CommitteeA
regional research project titled "Public Policies, Private Strategies,
and Food System Performance."
Foodsafety.govThe gateway
to government food safety information.
See all related links...
Glossary
Brief definitions of the
economic and clinical terms used.
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