Is Meat Inspection Worth the Cost?

Tanya Roberts

Food Review/ National Food Review, 1980, vol. NFR 11, issue 01

Abstract: Federal meat inspection was established near the turn of the century to protect the health of American consumers and to retain U.S. export markets. Federal poultry inspection was added in 1957. Most meat contaminants are not visible and consumers may not associate illness with meat or poultry products. Yet, those afflicted incur medical costs and lost income. Safer meat products are more costly to produce because inspectors and laboratory tests are necessary to make certain the meat is free of contaminants. And meat found to be contaminated (by disease, bacteria, molds, viruses, cysts, or chemical contaminants) must be taken off the market with a resulting loss of revenue from sales. Thus, there are conflicting interests between producers and the consuming public. The objective of effective regulation is to reach an optimum level of product safety that minimizes both the cost of providing product safety and the cost resulting from contaminant-related illness.

Keywords: Livestock; Production/Industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1980
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uersfr:281069

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.281069

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