Food Safety and Nutrition Section

Mission Statement

The Food Safety and Nutrition Section was formed to encourage the analysis of public and private food safety and nutrition strategies with regard to their impacts on consumer and producer behavior, and food quality.   In addition, the Section seeks to facilitate communication about food safety and nutrition research among Association members, other scientists, and public policy analysts.  Finally, the Section aims to contribute to the ongoing development of methods to measure the welfare effects of changes in food quality and public and private food policies.

 2008 AAEA Food Safety and Nutrition Sessions

• An overview of the 2008 AAEA Food Safety and Nutrition Section sponsored sessions at the Orlandod meetings can be obtained by clicking here.

 2008 AAEA Food Safety and Nutrition Section Nominees for Chair, Sec/Treasurer and At-Large Board Members

• Click here for background information on the 2008 candidates for Chair-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer and Member-at-Large here.

 2007 AAEA Food Safety and Nutrition Sessions

• An overview of the 2007 AAEA Food Safety and Nutrition Section sponsored sessions at the Portland meetings can be obtained by clicking here.

 Job Openings

• Consumer Science Staff Fellow, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA

• The Economic Research Service of USDA has a number of positions available in the area of Food Safety and Nutrition.

• The ERS (Economic Research Service, USDA) has openings for economists in food safety and food nutrition.   Vacancy Announcements ERS-2007-0095, 0096, and 0097 - Economist Positions (GS-9/11) and GS (12/13) are posted.   To apply for the positions, one must log onto the Quick Hire Resume site located on USAJOBS.   Here are the web addresses - note that multiple positions can be filled in these job announcements:
  http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob.asp?JobId=59678511
  http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/jobsearch.asp?q=ERS-2007-0096
  http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/jobsearch.asp?q=ERS-2007-0097

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA/CFSAN), seeks an economist at a GS 12 or GS 13 level.

Announcements

• USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) has just funded a small grants program on behavioral economic strategies to promote healthy eating and obesity prevention.  Applications are due July 3, 2008.

• Nominations sought for the:   2007 Best Economics Paper:  Food Safety and Nutrition

• Jan. 24, 2008 Conference:  Food Safety: Problems and Solutions sponsored by the Adminstrative Law and Agency Practice Section, D.C. Bar

• Minutes of the 2007 Business Meeting of the Food Safety and Nutrition Section, Portland Oregon.

• The American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI) and the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) have been working together in increasing ways over the last few years.  Joint efforts are likely to continue, including joint sponsorship of the summer 2008 meetings.  There are a number of things Food Safety and Nutrition Section members can do to help ACCI, whose conference and leading journal (the Journal of Consumer Affairs or JCA) have long offered a home for scholarly research of interest to our section members.  Here are three things to help JCA in particular:
  • Seeking more reviewers of Ag econ issues.  If interested, please send in this form.
  • Consider submitting your excellent papers for JCA (Advice for authors).
  • Ask your libraries subscribe to the journal (Library recommendation form).

Conference Program

Session 1: Interface Between Risk Assessment and Economics
• Integrating Risk Assessment and Economics, Richard Williams, George Mason University
  (Extended Article)
• Economic Valuation Methods: COI, VSL, WTP and QALY, Al McGartland, EPA
• Common Misperceptions of Cost/Benefit Analysis for Public and Private Decision Making, Cristina McLaughlin, FDA

Session II:  Food Safety Valuation Using the Willingness to Pay Method
• Using COI and WTP Methods to Estimate the Societal Costs of Foodborne Illness, Tanya Roberts, ERS
  (Extended Article)
• New Willingness to Pay Estimates of the Demand for Food Safety, James Hammitt and Kevin Haninger, Harvard Center for Risk Analysis
  (Extended Article)

Session III:  Food Safety Valuation Using the Quality Adjusted Life Years Method
• WTP and QALY Methods to Estimate the Societal Costs of Foodborne Illness, Angela Lasher, FDA
  (Extended Article)
• Using QALYS to Evaluate Chronic Siquelae:  Case of Arthritis, David Zorn, FDA
• Paper Discussant, Dom Mancini, OMB

Session IV:  Private Economic Incentives for Pathogen Control
• Risk-Based Optimization of the Danish Swine Salmonella Control Program, Scott Hurd, Iowa State University
  (Extended Article)
• Economic Incentives in Mandatory vs. Voluntary Meat Food Safety Standards, Gary Weber, Gary Weber and Associates

Session V:  Roundtable on the Role of Economics in Pathegen Control Regulations
• Daniel Engelhohn, FSIS-USDA
• Robert Buchanan, FDA

2006 AAEA Food Safety and Nutrition Section Pre-Conference Workshop:   New Food Safety Incentives and Regulatory, Technological, and Organizational Innovations

Industry Perspectives on Incentives for Food Safety Innovation
• Continuous Food Safety Innovation as a Management Strategy, by D. Theno
• Economic Incentives for Food Safety in the Pre-Cut Fruit & Vegetable Industry, by S. Ajeska
• Innovative Food Safety Training Systems, by G.L. Fread

Organizational and Technological Food Safety Innovations
• Is Co-Regulation More Efficient and Effective in Supplying Safer Food?  Insights from the UK, by M. Garcia and A. Fearne
• Chain Level Dairy Innovation and Changes in Expected Recall Costs, by R. Huirne, A. Velthuis, C. van Erve and M. Meuwissen

Regulatory Food Safety Innovations
• Prioritization of Food Borne Pathogens, by M. Mangen, Y. van Duynhoven, W. van Pelt, J. Kemmeren, and A. Havelaar
• Measuring Establishment Risk for Risk-Based Inspection, by D. Anderson
• Did HAS Scores Impact Economic Incentives?  - A Study of Hygiene Scores in the U. K., by W. Shang and N.H. Hooker

Private Market Mechanisms and Food Safety Insurance
• Sweden’s Success with Private Insurance for Salmonella Control in Broilers, by T. Roberts and H. Andersson
• Are Product Recalls Insurable in the Netherlands Dairy Supply Chain?, by N. Valeeva, A. Velthuis and R. Huirne
• Recapturing Value from Food Safety Certification:   Incentives and Firm Strategy, by S. Thornsbury, M. Woods and K. Raper

Applications Evaluating Innovation and Incentives for Food Safety
• Impact of EU Food Safety Standards on Kenyan Exports of Green Beans and Fish:   What Role Has Collective Action Played?, by J. Okello
• Impact of U. S. Good Agricultural Practices on the Mexican Fruit and Vegetable Industry, by B. Avendano and L. Calvin
• Danish Salmonella Control:  Benefits, Costs, and Distributional Impacts, by L. Anderson and T. Christensen

Annual Reports

• Minutes of the 2006 Annual Meeting - July, 2006

• Annual Report to AAEA (2005)

• Minutes of the Annual Meeting - August 1, 2004 - Prepared by Parke Wilde, Secretary/Treasurer for 2003-2004

• Annual Report to AAEA (2003)

• Annual Report to AAEA (2001-2002)

• Annual Report to AAEA (2000-2001)

Executive Board Members

• Neal Hooker, Chair - The Ohio State University

• Parke Wilde, Past Chair - Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

• Paul McNamara, Chair Elect - University of Illinois

• Sandra Hoffmann, Secretary Treasurer - Resources for the Future

• Jutta Roosen, At-large Board Member - Technische Universitat Munchen

• Duncan Chembezi, At-Large Board Member - Alabama A&M

• Helen Jensen, AAEA Section Liason Board Member - Iowa State University

By Laws

• Bylaws of the Food Safety and Nutrition Section - Amended August 2006

Current Selected Member Publications

Links to other Food Safety and Nutrition Sites

• Economic Research Service web page on "a safe food supply," with links to several relevant briefing rooms: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Emphases/SafeFood/

• Gateway to Government Food Safety Information

• Food Safety Research Consortium

• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

• The Food Safety Consortium

• National Center for Infectious Diseases - Foodborne Diseases

• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services

• The National Agricultural Library's Food and Nutrition Information Center

• Regional Research Project NE-165

• Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion http://www.cnpp.usda.gov

• Tufts University:  Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy http://www.nutrition.tufts.edu

• The Federal Government's web gateway for nutrition and food safety information: http://www.nutrition.gov/

• Economic Research Service web page on "a healthy well-nourished population," with links to several relevant briefing rooms: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Emphases/Healthy/

• International Food Information Council

• The New Food Pyramid

For information concerning this website email: Brian W. Gould,Associate Professor, Dept. of Agricultural and Applied Economics,  University of Wisconsin-Madison, 608-263-3212