Economic Assessment of Food Safety Regulations: The New Approach to Meat and Poultry Inspection

Stephen R. Crutchfield, Jean Buzby (), Tanya Roberts, Michael Ollinger and Chung-Tung Jordan Lin

No 34009, Agricultural Economic Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: USDA is now requiring all Federally inspected meat and poultry processing and slaughter plants to implement a new system called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) to reduce potentially harmful microbial pathogens in the food supply. This report finds that the benefits of the new regulations, which are the medical costs and productivity losses that are prevented when foodborne illnesses are averted, will likely exceed the costs, which include spending by firms on sanitation, temperature control, planning and training, and testing. Other, nonregulatory approaches can also improve food safety, such as providing market incentives for pathogen reduction, irradiation, and education and labeling to promote safe food handling and thorough cooking.

Keywords: Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Livestock Production/Industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24
Date: 1997
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uerser:34009

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.34009

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