Producer Response to Public Disclosure of Food‐Safety Information

Abstract

Beginning in 2003, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) put forth a series of Federal Register announcements regarding the public disclosure of results of tests for Salmonella in chicken carcasses. In particular, FSIS suggested in 2003 that it might disclose the identities of any slaughter or ground meat plant failing its Salmonella tests if test performance did not improve, and in 2004 the service increased regulatory scrutiny of plants not meeting FSIS Salmonella standards. In 2006, FSIS introduced a more easily-understood measure of food-safety quality and indicated that public disclosure would be forthcoming if results of tests for Salmonella did not improve; FSIS targeted the chicken-slaughter industry with a high degree of specificity. In 2008, FSIS began reporting the names of chicken-slaughter plants with poor performance on tests for Salmonella in chicken carcasses. This article examines the effects of these regulatory actions on Salmonella test outcomes. We find that (1) announcements in 2003 and 2004 were associated with improved performance by the poorestperforming chicken-slaughter plants;(2) the introduction of an easily-understood measure of foodsafety quality and the threat of disclosure of the identities of poorly performing plants in 2006 were associated with improved performance by all chicken-slaughter plants; and (3) implementation of a public disclosure program in 2008 was associated with improvements among better-performing chicken-slaughter plants.

Blockchain‐based traceability and demand for U.S. beef in China

“…Along with growing beef demand, Chinese consumers have become increasingly discerning about the safety of food products (Ortega et al, 2011; Ortega et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2008). Food safety issues arise, in large part, because of asymmetric information between consumers and producers, providing incentives for agents in the food industry to behave opportunistically (Akerlof, 1970; Hölmstrom, 1979; Ollinger & Bovay, 2020; Starbird, 2005). Traceability, which allows for a product to be traced back to the point of origin, has been a recognized tool to mitigate information asymmetry and improve food safety (Hobbs, 2004; Pouliot & Sumner, 2008).…”

Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance of Salmonella and Campylobacter Isolates from Raw Chicken Breasts in Retail Markets in the United States and Comparison to Data from the Plant Level

“…The establishments are placed into three categories, which are defined as follows [ 34 ]: Category 1: Establishments that have achieved 50 percent or less of the maximum allowable percent positive during the most recent completed 52-week moving window (meets the performance standard); Category 2: Establishments that meet the maximum allowable percent positive but have results greater than 50 percent of the maximum allowable percent positive during the most recent completed 52-week moving window (meets the performance standard); Category 3: Establishments that have exceeded the maximum allowable percent positive during the most recent completed 52-week moving window (does not meet the performance standard and must take corrective action); NA: FSIS did not collect or analyze the minimum number of samples to categorize the establishment and the establishment has not exceeded the maximum number of positives allowed under the standard [ 35 ]. The public disclosure of USDA Salmonella establishment categorization was found to correlate with a reduction in Salmonella levels, when data over a 4 year period (2006–2010) was analyzed, with establishments having poor or mediocre performance in one year improving their performance the following year [ 36 ].…”

Export Quality and Income Distribution

“…For example, evaluating the impact of the hygiene quality grade cards policy in Los Angeles in the USA, Jin and Leslie (2003) find that the hygiene quality of restaurants improved significantly. Similarly, Ollinger and Bovay (2020) observe that both the credible threat and actual actions of public disclosure of chicken quality and safety by the government led to improvement in quality and safety by chicken slaughterers.…”