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Governments use policy interventions to mitigate food safety risks. Despite its crucial role, empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of China's food safety policy tools are scarce. Drawing on a dataset encompassing 11,236 food safety policy texts from 2005 to 2021 and the incidence of problematic food products in the Eastern, Central, and Western regions of China, this study employs Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models to facilitate the classification of policy tools and forecast the effectiveness of policy combinations. The study reveals that (1) local governments have gradually become an important supplementary maker of food safety policies, and have issued an increasing number of policy tools year by year. (2) Mandatory policy tools are predominant in number and have the highest legal hierarchy and authority levels, followed successively by guiding policy and voluntary policy tools. (3) Mandatory policy tools demonstrated the most effective intervention results, followed successively by guiding policy and voluntary policy tools. (4) The forecast analysis reveals that combinations of policies within high-growth frameworks and those driven by mandatory regulations emerge as the most effective. Therefore, the balance of policy tools in terms of type, effectiveness, and quantity, as well as their applicability in different situations, should all be taken into account.

AbstractThis review article focuses on the safety of street-vended foods (SVFs) in Nigeria, a cultural phenomenon that has become a major source of income and nutrition for many, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Despite their popularity, SVFs have been associated with unsanitary practices and public health risks due to inadequate monitoring by government agencies and limited coverage in the National food safety policy documents. In this review, we examine the challenges faced by SVFs in Nigeria and recommend better collaboration between food safety stakeholders and the government to address these issues. We also suggest the passage of the Food Safety and Quality Bill (FSQB) as a solution to the gaps in the regulation of street foods and institutional reform of food safety management through the establishment of a National Food Safety Commission. By implementing these recommendations, we can ensure the safety of street-vended foods in Nigeria.

Seeing the palpable impact of food poisoning associated with catering operations, we surveyed caterers with and without past hygiene violations to examine staffing, food safety practices and correlations with microbial counts in food and the processing environment. Past infringements did not negatively impact the current execution of food safety measures nor the microbial quality of food. In preference to added stringencies for errant operators, we discuss alternative efforts to augment food safety, as well as the policy implications thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, food safety and cold chain food have been closely related to the epidemic. The party and the state have intensified efforts to solve food safety problems and prevent possible epidemic risks. China has issued a series of policies and plans to strengthen food safety supervision to improve the food safety policy system. To our knowledge, little work has studied policy problems of food safety with in-depth quantitative analysis for an extended period. In accordance with the different national policies and regulations for food safety, this paper fills the gap by analyzing the policies and comparing the central and local policies issued in China from 2007–2022. In addition, the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model and K-Means clustering model are constructed to analyze the content of food safety policies and identify hot topics. Finally, a quantitative analysis of China's food safety policies is made from four aspects: the number of policy release years, the distribution area, the range of action, and the affiliated institutions. The results show that: (a) there is a partial surge in food safety policies issued in 2007, 2011, and 2017; (b) the local food safety policy has a high inheritance to the central policy content, and the trends of annual publication number are highly consistent; (c) the innovation of different policy contents in the region have their own characteristics; (d) the proportion of compulsory and capacity policies is much more significant than that of other types of policies. This paper provides some novel insights into food safety policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission recently adopted Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/382 requiring food businesses to establish and provide evidence of a food safety culture (FSC). FSC incorporates management systems, risk perceptions, leadership, communication, environment and commitment to ensure food safety. This review ( n  = 20) investigates food safety interventions in food businesses to identify effective strategies to improve food safety practices and FSC, and to provide recommendations for improving FSC. Results found that most interventions focused on knowledge training and that workplace practical demonstrations produced the best outcomes. Similar training topics were used evidencing the existence of common training needs. Frequent training over longer time periods was most successful for behavioral change, yet no sustained behavioral change was reported, indicating that single knowledge-based interventions are insufficient, reinforcing repeated experiential learning to be incorporated into training. We suggest that FSC training should focus on FSC more broadly, rather than solely on knowledge training, and that management leadership skills in particular are important to ensure sustained positive change. This study contributes to knowledge by providing a summative overview of food safety interventions and how components of these may be used to enhance FSC in food businesses.

Seeing the palpable impact of food poisoning associated with catering operations, we surveyed caterers with and without past hygiene violations to examine staffing, food safety practices and correlations with microbial counts in food and the processing environment. Past infringements did not negatively impact the current execution of food safety measures nor the microbial quality of food. In preference to added stringencies for errant operators, we discuss alternative efforts to augment food safety, as well as the policy implications thereof.

Governments use policy interventions to mitigate food safety risks. Despite its crucial role, empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of China's food safety policy tools are scarce. Drawing on a dataset encompassing 11,236 food safety policy texts from 2005 to 2021 and the incidence of problematic food products in the Eastern, Central, and Western regions of China, this study employs Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models to facilitate the classification of policy tools and forecast the effectiveness of policy combinations. The study reveals that (1) local governments have gradually become an important supplementary maker of food safety policies, and have issued an increasing number of policy tools year by year. (2) Mandatory policy tools are predominant in number and have the highest legal hierarchy and authority levels, followed successively by guiding policy and voluntary policy tools. (3) Mandatory policy tools demonstrated the most effective intervention results, followed successively by guiding policy and voluntary policy tools. (4) The forecast analysis reveals that combinations of policies within high-growth frameworks and those driven by mandatory regulations emerge as the most effective. Therefore, the balance of policy tools in terms of type, effectiveness, and quantity, as well as their applicability in different situations, should all be taken into account., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recently, food safety and cold chain food have been closely related to the epidemic. The party and the state have intensified efforts to solve food safety problems and prevent possible epidemic risks. China has issued a series of policies and plans to strengthen food safety supervision to improve the food safety policy system. To our knowledge, little work has studied policy problems of food safety with in-depth quantitative analysis for an extended period. In accordance with the different national policies and regulations for food safety, this paper fills the gap by analyzing the policies and comparing the central and local policies issued in China from 2007–2022. In addition, the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model and K-Means clustering model are constructed to analyze the content of food safety policies and identify hot topics. Finally, a quantitative analysis of China’s food safety policies is made from four aspects: the number of policy release years, the distribution area, the range of action, and the affiliated institutions. The results show that: (a) there is a partial surge in food safety policies issued in 2007, 2011, and 2017; (b) the local food safety policy has a high inheritance to the central policy content, and the trends of annual publication number are highly consistent; (c) the innovation of different policy contents in the region have their own characteristics; (d) the proportion of compulsory and capacity policies is much more significant than that of other types of policies. This paper provides some novel insights into food safety policies.

Chinese food policy has changed over the last two decades from a productivist focus to embracing a precautionary approach to food safety. What are the drivers of this change? And what are the implications for the Chinese political regime? While acknowledging the relevance of global dynamics, we claim that domestic dynamics have largely accounted for this change. A series of food scandals in the 2000s has caused concerns among Chinese consumers and ultimately lead to a contested governance of food safety in the nation that has challenged the legitimacy of the regime itself. The government has responded by introducing new precautionary measures, as theorists of responsive authoritarianism would predict. Contrary to such predictions, though, the Chinese government toughened provisions to repress violations. Due to these characteristics, we conclude that the Chinese approach to food safety that emerged after the food scandals can be synthesised as a form of precautionary authoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operating environment for food safety interventions in nations such as Saudi Arabia, with limited local agricultural productivity, high reliance on foreign food imports and observance of Islamic laws, is remarkably challenging for the national control and regulatory institutions, since compliance to the mandatory food safety regulations and the local religious Halal standards must be ensured. This review offers a comprehensive analysis of the recently restructured food safety governance in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of its food imports control. Specifically, the nature of the food imports, the organization of the food safety governance and the current control practices of imported food, in consideration of food safety and Halal requirements, are analyzed through a triangulation of data and information from secondary sources (academic literature review and gray literature search) and primary sources (direct consultation of field experts). Statistical trade data on imported food were also performed. Results revealed that the process of centralizing all the control and regulatory activities under a single agency, which the government started to strengthen the national food safety governance, has not been completed yet. The resulting overlap of legislative and monitoring tasks by multiple entities augments the challenge of ensuring the safety, quality, and authenticity of imported food and their compliance to Halal standards. The vulnerabilities and challenges still to be addressed by the local food industry and the public sector are discussed, with implications for national and international field practitioners and policymakers of countries facing similar challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author uses insights from the history of knowledge and political history to consider the Progressive Era novel "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair. Topics considered include the novel's accounts of slaughterhouses, its influence on the politics of food laws, the theory of speech acts forwarded by Jürgen Habermas, and food purity and adulteration.

Can governments use grades to induce businesses to improve their compliance with regulations? Does public disclosure of compliance with food safety regulations matter for restaurants? Ultimately, this depends on whether grades matter for the bottom line. Based on 28 months of data on more than 15,000 restaurants in New York City, this article explores the impact of public restaurant grades on economic activity and public resources using rigorous panel data methods, including fixed‐effects models with controls for underlying food safety compliance. Results show that A grades reduce the probability of restaurant closure and increase revenues while increasing sales taxes remitted and decreasing fines relative to B grades. Conversely, C grades increase the probability of restaurant closure and decrease revenues while decreasing sales taxes remitted relative to B grades. These findings suggest that policy makers can incorporate public information into regulations to more strongly incentivize compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A safe food supply is essential for a healthy society. Our food system is replete with different types of risk, yet food safety is often narrowly understood as encompassing only foodborne illness and other risks related directly to food ingestion. This Article argues for a more comprehensive definition of food safety, one that includes not just acute, ingestion-related risks, but also whole-diet cumulative ingestion risks, and cradle-to-grave risks of food production and disposal. This broader definition, which we call "Food System Safety," draws under the header of food safety a variety of historically siloed, and under-regulated, food system issues including nutrition, environmental protection, and workplace safety. The current narrow approach to food safety is inadequate. First, it contributes to irrational resource allocation among food system risks. Second, it has collateral consequences for other food system risks, and, third, its limited focus can undermine efforts to achieve narrow food safety. A comprehensive understanding of food safety illuminates the complex interactions between narrow food safety and other areas of food system health risks. We argue that such an understanding could facilitate improved allocation of resources and assessment of tradeoffs, and ultimately support better health and safety outcomes for more people. We offer a variety of structural and institutional mechanisms for embedding this approach into federal agency action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increases in outbreaks of foodborne illnesses traced to fruits or vegetables have resulted in a food safety policy shift in the United States (U.S.) from reaction to a focus on prevention of outbreaks. This research assessed the knowledge and educational needs of produce growers in the north central region of the U.S. with regard to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, using a modified Delphi approach. The tool gathered information about educational needs and preferred methods of educational delivery from growers over two rounds, with the second round of the assessment survey informed by the first round. Through use of a ranking scale (1 representing the least understood topic and 4 the most understood topic), participants (n = 410) in the second round indicated that the least understood topics were related to biological soil amendments of animal origin (BSAAO) (mean rank 2.18) and agricultural water (mean rank 2.49). Growers preferred to obtain information from extension publications/fact sheets, printed checklists, hands-on/experiential events, and text-based information rather than from DVDs and flash drives. Based on these results, educational materials in the form of fact sheets that focused on BSAAO and agricultural water were developed for produce growers in the north central region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Small-scale slaughterhouses (SHs) face many challenges, not least due to the requirements of food safety legislation. Food business operators' (FBOs') own-check system is very important for food safety, but its proper implementation can be quite difficult and laborious for small-scale SHs. In the European Union, the importance not only of food safety but also facilitation of local food production, including small-scale slaughtering, is highlighted. The aim of our study was to assess compliance with legislation of own-check systems, including six own-check programmes and HACCP, in small-scale SHs. The FBOs' opinions of the implementation of own-check systems were also sought to elucidate possible obstacles in implementation. Our results showed that the best compliance in own-check programmes was achieved in temperature of storage rooms and traceability. FBOs also evaluated these programmes as necessary. However, FBOs' perceived necessity of own-check programmes did not always lead to compliance, as was the case with labelling and HACCP. Instead, in HACCP laboriousness and compliance showed a negative correlation (p < 0.05). In addition to laboriousness, costs of own-check programmes, specifically concerning microbiological sampling requirements, appeared to influence compliance, with many of the small-scale SHs poorly following sampling requirements. FBOs also noted the high costs of the non-edible by-product programme. Moreover, the results show that official veterinarians’ assessment of compliance was significantly higher than that of the researcher, which warrants further investigation. This study reveals that many small-scale SHs in Finland struggle with food safety requirements. Amendments of some of the requirements to ease the burden of FBOs are proposed. HACCP in particular is suggested to be simplified. In addition, ways to improve food safety and official control in small-scale SHs are discussed. Highlights • Small-scale slaughterhouses complied best with storage temperature and traceability. • Compliance was poorest in HACCP and control of product temperature. • HACCP should be simplified in small-scale slaughterhouses. • Microbiological sampling and by-product programmes inflicted the highest costs. • The perceived necessity of an own-check programme did not guarantee compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 938 consumers in China's Shandong Province were surveyed for their preferences for tomatoes in a real choice experiment varying in three product attributes: food safety label, brand, and price. Using a mixed logit model, results revealed that consumer willingness to pay for organic tomatoes was higher than that for tomatoes labeled as Green or Generally Regarded as Safe (GRS). With regard to brands, consumers prefer brands affiliated with proprietary enterprises over brands held by agricultural cooperatives. The interactions between organic label and brands as well as that between Green label and brands were significantly positive suggesting synergy between these labels and brands. Conversely, the interaction between the GRS label and brands was insignificant. The conclusions should not only aid Chinese policy makers in developing its food safety certification strategies but also provide references for producers and certification bodies for their business decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores different ways that the business of food is conducted within a larger political sphere. Topics discussed include descriptions of his training and employment in a traditional prison kitchen to memories of eating with friends in the mess hall; ways in which stable employment is considered a significant factor in reducing or preventing recidivism; and contemporary food-based activities.

The article presents a study that demonstrates the use of nonlinear mixed effects (NLME) to characterize and quantify variability in veterinary pharmacokinetics. It highlights the use of the approach to characterize the sources of variability in drug disposition and response used in both companion and food-producing animals. It also concludes the advantages of the NLME as a useful tool in estimating withdrawal times (WT) of approved animal drug products and optimizing dosing schedules.

Copyright of World Food Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Seventy samples sold in the Brazilian market as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) were evaluated for the presence of the 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) classified as carcinogenic and genotoxic by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), to verify if the products were adulterated and to evaluate if there is a correlation between PAH presence and adulteration. PAH were detected in 93% of the samples, with summed levels varying from not detected to 41.10 μg/kg. Five samples showed BaP concentration above acceptable levels set by European legislation and by Brazilian regulation (2.0 μg/kg) and 7 presented PAH4 levels above the limit set by European legislation (10.0 µg/kg). The levels of fatty acid composition, sterols content, stigmastadiene and specific extinction did not comply with both Brazilian and International Olive Council (IOC) standards in 18, 31, 30 and 21% of the samples, respectively. The tolerance levels for these analyses in the Brazilian standards are 55.0-83.0 g/100 g (oleic acid), 3.5-21.0 g/100 g (linoleic acid), ≤0.05 g/100 g ( trans-oleic acid), ≤0.05 g/100 g ( trans-linoleic + trans-linolenic acid), ≤0.15 mg/kg (stigmastadiene), ≤2.50 (K232), ≤0.22 (K270), ≤0.01 (∆K), 1000-1600 mg/kg (Σ sterols). Results indicate that 19 samples were adulterated. According to principal component analysis, samples were distinguished as: (1) EVOO with addition of vegetable oil from another source, (2) EVOO with addition of refined oil and (3) samples possibly not adulterated. The variable ΣPAH was related mainly to samples of EVOO with addition of vegetable oil from another source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Felt as a human need to be protected from the beginning of history, this paper briefly outlines the path that led to the birth - at the international level - of the right to food safety, by retracing the development and framing especially the turning point with the recall of the international food principles in the World Trade Organization agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 50 years, the food industry has transformed. The first food-related crops containing gene modifications were commercialized in the late 1990s, and researchers began documenting trends toward consumption of larger portions of food, increased reliance on fast food, and the health impacts of living in "food deserts." Polls examined here document a general, though not monotonic, decline in confidence that the federal government can ensure the safety of the food supply, a similar decline in confidence that food in restaurants or grocery stores is safe to eat, a decline in the belief that packaged-food companies are doing a good job, and an increased sensitivity to the negative aspects of GMO foods. At the same time, we find that fewer people are attending to biotechnology-related news or the information on food packaging, but increasingly attending to food warnings and nutritional recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal rules on the use of insects as feed and food vary across the world. Precise rules on safety, marketing, and animal welfare are largely missing. In the EU, United States and Canada, insects are novel and legally treated as such. In Mexico, Australia, and China, many species of insects have a long tradition of food and/or feed use. We believe recognizing the history of safe use in other countries is fair risk management in insect regulation. Harmonized standards on safety, marketing, and animal welfare would facilitate sustainable growth of the insect business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective government regulation is an important approach to control food safety incidents. In this paper, we establish a symmetric game model to study the strategy choice of food enterprises under government participation, explore government regulation failures with the number of food enterprise increases. The research suggests that when the number of food enterprises increases on the market, the border earnings of non-self-discipline enterprises increase, more enterprises becomes non-self-discipline and provide unsafe food production; that is the reason why the fixed checking probability of government cannot adapt to the market situation where many food enterprises coexistence. In the game, inspect frequency of government, cost of self-discipline and punishment of non-self-discipline are the most important for enterprise which could affect the choice of behavior. In order to cope with the failure of the government regulation effectively, the government should increase inspect frequency, reduce the cost of self-discipline, and increase the punishment of non-self-discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cow's milk and egg allergies are two of the most common food allergies. Manufacturers of food products containing milk or eggs or their derivatives as an ingredient are required by European Union regulations to list their presence on the ingredient label. Under European Union legislation, member states are mandated to carry out food safety monitoring programs to verify compliance with food labeling requirements. Through the Regional Integrated Plan for Food Safety, the Piedmont (Italy) regional authority carries out an annual program to detemiine the presence of undeclared allergens in foods. In the 5-year period from 2010 to 2014, a total of 1,566 food samples were analyzed for the presence of hidden egg and milk proteins. The average positive percentage was 2.8% (3.6% egg and 2% milk proteins). Comparison between the allergen concentration and the published eliciting dose (ED) for egg proteins (0.03 mg) and for total milk proteins (0.1 mg) indicated a high risk of allergen exposure for sensitized consumers. The calculated exposure was up to 135X (for milk) the ED01 reported in the literature. Food manufacturers will need to improve their allergen control programs to reduce allergen exposure and risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-farm food safety is treated as the final frontier in addressing source contamination problems of foodborne pathogens in fresh fruits and vegetables. It is a common assumption among food safety experts in the United States (U.S.) that small and medium scale growers pose inherently greater risk because they are viewed as least likely to implement Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) or attend continuing education programs. Farm scale is an aspect of food safety that is apparent to many yet overlooked by large-scale farmers, produce industry advocates, and regulators who have collectively created the current food safety system of standards and metrics. In this paper, responses to a survey of fresh produce growers about on-farm food safety are examined across farm scales using factor analysis and ANOVA. The findings demonstrate that, with few exceptions, U.S. Midwestern produce growers of all scales report similar levels of knowledge for pathogens, pre-harvest and post-harvest contamination sources, and management practices to prevent contamination. These findings challenge assumptions and generalizations and redirect the food safety conversation away from “knowledge deficit” models and toward the development of food safety standards, metrics, and certification processes that remove structural barriers to implementing on-farm food safety protocols for all scales of fresh produce production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Great East Japan Earthquake on 11th March 2011 and the subsequent Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster caused radioactive contamination in the surrounding environment. In the immediate aftermath of the accident the Government of Japan placed strict measures on radio-contamination of food, and enhanced radio-contamination monitoring activities. Japan is a pilot country in the WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG), and through this initiative has an opportunity to report on policy affecting chemicals and toxins in the food distribution network. Nuclear accidents are extremely rare, and a policy situation analysis of the Japanese government’s response to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident is a responsibility of Japanese scientists. This study aims to assess Japan government policies to reduce radio-contamination risk and to identify strategies to strengthen food policies to ensure the best possible response to possible future radiation accidents. Methods and Findings: We conducted a hand search of all publicly available policy documents issued by the Cabinet Office, the Food Safety Commission, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF) and prefectural governments concerning food safety standards and changes to radiation and contamination standards since March 11th, 2011. We extracted information on food shipment and sales restrictions, allowable radio-contamination limits, monitoring activities and monitoring results. The standard for allowable radioactive cesium (Cs-134 and Cs-137) of 100 Bq/Kg in general food, 50 Bq/Kg in infant formula and all milk products, and 10 Bq/Kg in drinking water was enforced from April 2012 under the Food Sanitation Law, although a provisional standard on radio-contamination had been applied since the nuclear accident. Restrictions on the commercial sale and distribution of specific meat, vegetable and fish products were released for areas at risk of radioactive contamination. Monitoring of radioactive materials in food products in the prefectures has been mainly conducted before shipment to restrict the distribution of radio-contaminated foods. Between March 2011 and March 2012, 133,832 tests of non-commercial and commercial products were conducted, and 1,204 tests (0.9%) were found to violate the provisional standards. Since April 2012, 278,275 tests were conducted, and 2,372 tests (0.9%) were found to violate the revised standards. MHLW assessment of representative market baskets of foodstuffs at 15 locations throughout Japan between February and March 2014 found very low estimated dietary intake of radioactive cesium (0.0007–0.019 mSv/year), as did assessments of the contents of an average day’s food. Monitoring of fisheries products in coastal areas affected by the nuclear accident found very limited and declining radio-contamination of live fish outside of Fukushima prefecture. Fisheries monitoring is of limited geographical scope and covers only certain fishes. Conclusions: Area-specific bans on production and distribution have been effective in preventing radioactive contamination in the Japanese food market. Currently there is no major concern about radioactive cesium concentrations in retail foodstuffs in Japan, and very low levels of contamination at the production and wholesale stage. However, because the residue limits and food safety policies were revised on an ad hoc, emergency basis after the nuclear accident, the monitoring procedure needs to be reviewed based on objective and scientifically rational criteria. A transparent and objective scientific framework is needed for prioritizing foodstuffs for inspection and revising Prefecture-specific restrictions. Monitoring of fishes and other seafood products in the wild should be regularized and the information made more publicly accessible, and monitoring activities expanded to identify foodstuffs that are no longer a food safety risk. Consultation with producers and consumers should be more formalized to ensure their concerns are incorporated into regular policy reviews in an appropriate and transparent manner. However, despite the limited available knowledge on best practice in food control and enforcement of provisional radio-contamination limits after the accident, current Japanese policy is sufficient to protect the Japanese public from major risk of radio-contamination from the commercial food market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, at the request of the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced a new risk assessment policy: Guidance on the environmental risks of genetically modified (GM) animals (‘Guidance’). This policy specifies the issues to be addressed in future risk assessments for GM animals. EFSA is the European Commission's scientific arm, responsible for food-related risk assessment. EFSA relies heavily on independent experts and consults non-state actors. Employing expert interviews and documentary analysis, the article explores non-state actor involvement in a traditionally expert domain through a case study. Analysis of EFSA's consultation demonstrates the inability of non-state actors to influence policy. The article argues that despite international legal obligations to develop risk assessment policy, the European Commission failed to recognize the Guidance as policy. When policy masquerades as science, unjustified restrictions are placed on non-state actor involvement and value judgements are cloaked from public scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) are a cornerstone of the Deep and Comprehensive Free-Trade Areas (DCFTAs) negotiated between the European Union (EU) and Eastern European Neighborhood Countries (NCs) under the Eastern Partnership. These are expected to eliminate quotas as well as both tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, thus improving the existing export opportunities for food and feed products from Ukraine, Moldova, and South Caucasus countries. However, NCs face multifaceted challenges in meeting the stringent EU regulatory and administrative requirements in the SPS area. Domestically, in light of Soviet legacies (including a food safety system which deeply differed from WTO-compliant standards), approximation with EU SPS standards requires massive reforms and involve high costs for partner countries – to be borne not only by state authorities but also private businesses. Yet reforms to comply with EU demands are also closely intertwined with regional interdependencies and Russia’s bilateral and multilateral policies. The article scrutinizes the interplay between domestic preferences, EU demands for reform and Russia’s policies. It points to a complex and multifaceted relationship between engagement into a macro-level regional framework and shifting sectoral compliance patterns. The paper highlights disjunctures between sector-specific compliance processes with EU demands, on the one hand, and macro-level relations between these countries and the EU and Russia on the other. As the article argues, this is because external actors’ policies are filtered by domestic interests, preferences, and practices. Ultimately, these shape the adoption and application of external templates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Historische Zeitschrift is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We use data on US food import refusals to show for the first time that reputational spillovers are important factors in the enforcement of food safety measures. The odds of a country experiencing at least one import refusal increase by over 100% if there was a refusal of the same product from a neighboring country in the preceding year. Similarly, the odds of a refusal increase by 62% if there was a refusal of a related product from the same country in the preceding year. These findings have important policy implications for exporters of agricultural products, particularly in middle-income developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The targeted public distribution system (TPDS) of India—world’s largest food safety-net program—has a reputation for poor targeting, rampant corruption and low impact. Five states of India modified TPDS by reducing targeting, lowering grain prices to Rs.1–3 per kg and tightening its administration. This paper assesses the impact of changes in the TPDS on household food consumption using data from a repeated cross-section of Indian households from five rounds of representative consumption surveys between 1993–1994 and 2009–2010. We use the Difference-in-Difference (DID) method to identify the policy impact, first on consumption of food-grains, and second, on food expenditure. We find that modifications in TPDS led not only to an increase in the purchase of subsidized grains from fair-price shops, but also to diversification of the food basket of poor households. We also find evidence for reduction in the diversion of grains from TPDS to the open market in reform states. Finally, we present suggestive evidence that a food policy reform is likely to fail if price and targeting policy components are not accompanied by effective administrative measures to reduce corruption and improve the logistics of subsidized food distribution. These are important findings for India’s own National Food Security Act (NFSA) and for other food safety-net programs throughout the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lowering the detection limit is critical to the design of bioassays required for medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety regulations. The current sensitivity of standard color-based analyte detection limits the further use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) in research and clinical diagnoses. Here, we demonstrate a novel method that uses the Raman signal as the signal-generating system of an ELISA and combines surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with silver nanoparticles aggregation for ultrasensitive analyte detection. The enzyme label of the ELISA controls the dissolution of Raman reporter-labeled silver nanoparticles through hydrogen peroxide and generates a strong Raman signal when the analyte is present. Using this assay, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and the adrenal stimulant ractopamine (Rac) were detected in whole serum and urine at the ultralow concentrations of 10–9 and 10–6 ng/mL, respectively. The methodology proposed here could potentially be applied to other molecules detection as well as PSA and Rac. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the potential role that consumer demand could play in the development of a solution to antimicrobial resistant strains of bacteria or infections (superbugs) as of 2015, and it mentions threats to global health security and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's release of documents which address the public health concerns raised by the administration of antibiotics to food-animals. The U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and a Food Safety Initiative are examined.

With the continuous improvement of living standards, there is an increasingly concerned about food quality and safety issues. Especially in recent years, food safety incidents, breaking out frequently, have become the focus of people's attention, putting forward new demands on the regulation of food safety. This paper reviewed the Food Safety Supervision in China from food safety supervision mode, regulatory system defects and circulation supervision system, and also proposed the future research trends of food safety regulations for the wholesale market of Chinese agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the practice of adulterating food is as old as commerce itself, statistics reveal that in the last few years it is on the rise. However, despite both the economic and social importance of food fraud, a harmonised definition does not exist in the European Union legislation. In defining food fraud it seems to be essential to take into account the interests jeopardized by the fraud such as consumer interest in food safety and to make informed choices with reference to the foods chosen by the consumer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Asia, the growth of purchasing power, especially in cities, come together with rising consumers' concerns for food safety. We investigate two mechanisms of food safety assurance, i.e., proximity (between farmers and consumers), and certification based on standards. The literature suggests the following hypotheses: (i) proximity in food chains comes together with low farmers' cost for quality assurance, but also limited scope of operation; and (ii) "abstract" expertise systems that form the basis of standardization imply high costs at the expense of inclusion of small-scale farmers, but enable large scope of operation; the impact on consumers' trust is controversial. The paper is a preliminary attempt to test these hypotheses on the situation of vegetable safety assurance in Northern Vietnam. The authors' fieldwork brings to the fore a variety of standards and quality assurance systems: safe vegetable certification by the Plant Protection Department, based on--quite lax-public standards and control; it is in some cases supplemented by internal control systems; VietGap and AseanGaps based on good agricultural practices and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point); and participatory guarantee systems (PGSs) for organic vegetables. The hypotheses are partly confirmed. One interesting outcome relates to the combination of systems based on relational proximity, expert systems, and labeling on the origin of vegetables as enhancing consumers' trust and farmers' commitments. The paper concludes with recommendations in terms of policy and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of the primary and the secondary stakeholders on the current functioning of the fish quality and safety regulatory system in Oman. Design/methodology/approach -- The views on the fish quality and safety regulatory governance mechanism were elicited using a questionnaire survey. Findings -- Although specific benefits derived from the quality control (QC) regulations were recognized by both groups a number of key factors were highlighted for improvement such as funding, being more proactive, literacy, quality of fish received. Originality/value -- The paper has identified some weaknesses and constraints that hinder the effective and efficient functioning of the quality and safety regulatory systems and provided appropriate policy recommendations to make the governance of the QC regulatory system in the seafood sector efficient and effective and to mitigate public health risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]