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overview
ERS analyzes the efficiency and equity of government policies and programs
designed to protect the U.S. food supply from contaminants hazardous to
human health. Benefit/cost analysis, a weighing of the pros and cons of
intervention, is the primary method used.
The United States enjoys one of the world's safest food supplies, thanks
in large part to an interlocking system of Federal, State, and local agencies
watching over food production and distribution. The main Federal regulatory
agencies are:
In May 1997, the President announced a new expanded food safety effort,
"A National Food Safety Initiative," coordinated by these three
agencies plus the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More
overview...
contents
features
 Meat and Poultry Plants' Food Safety Investments: Survey Findings—Results from the first national survey of the types and amounts of food safety investments made by meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants since the late 1990s provide evidence that market forces have worked in conjunction with regulation to promote the use of more sophisticated food safety technologies. From 1996 through 2000, U.S. plants as a group spent about $380 million annually and made $570 million in long-term investments to comply with USDA's 1996 Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) regulation, according to a survey initiated by the Economic Research Service. The U.S. meat and poultry industry as a whole during the same period spent an additional $360 million on food safety investments that were not required by the PR/HACCP rule.
 Foodborne Illness Cost Calculator—This 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.
 Managing
for Safer Food: The Economics of Sanitation and Process Controls in Meat
and Poultry Plants—Sanitation 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.
Traceability for
Food Marketing & Safety: What's the Next Step?—Recently, the
European Union proposed government-mandated traceability for genetically
engineered crops and foods to help distinguish them from their conventional
counterparts. This article examines the economic rationale for private
firms to establish traceability and the economic arguments for government-mandated
traceability. Government-mandated tracking of genetically engineered crops
and food proved to be neither a practical nor efficient use of traceability.
ERS estimates the economic benefits and costs
of HACCP—HACCP benefits outweigh costs, even for the lowest range
of benefits, in combating foodborne diseases caused by four pathogens.
ERS also estimated the distributional impacts
of HACCP, finding that the long-term benefits of HACCP accrue more
to wealthy households than to poor households, and to households with
children than those without.
recommended readings
Dissecting the Challenges
of Mad Cow and Foot-and-Mouth Disease—The simultaneous presence
of "mad cow" disease and foot-and-mouth disease in the U.K. has caused
confusion among consumers worldwide about these diseases and their interrelationships.
This article summarizes the differences and similarities between the two
diseases and presents some of the estimated economic impacts and implications.
Food
and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock for the New Century—This
book takes a broad-brush approach to portraying the future direction of
U.S. agriculture. The section on food safety (pp. 64-66) emphasizes the
use of science-based criteria to rank foodborne risks from multiple sources
and the desirability of consolidating Federal responsibility for food
safety.
Food Safety
Efforts Accelerate in the 1990's—The 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...
newsletters
Receive notice via e-mail as the latest ERS research on food safety becomes
available by subscribing to our e-mail updates.
Be sure to check the "food safety" box.
related briefing rooms
related links
Fodsafety.gov—The gateway to government food safety information.
NE-165 Regional Research Committee—A
regional research project titled "Private Strategies, Public Policies,
and Food System Performance."
Food-Related
Illness and Death in the United States—CDC's latest estimates.
See all related links...
glossary
Brief definitions of the
economic and clinical terms used.
for more information, contact:
Paul Frenzen
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: September 3,
2004
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