Food safety standards and agri-food supply chains: an introductory overview

In recent years there has been an increased international focus on food safety standards, enforced through legislation and firms at different levels of the supply chain.

During the last years different laws has improved the food safety standards including the characteristics of the final product, production practices in the food supply chain, traceability and legal liability of the supply chain.

Food safety standards: It’s not only a public practice

The change in public regulations has been increased together with the use of private standards, which include rules on infrastructures, equipment, modes of production, processing and quality management, often even more stringent than the regulations required by law.

Analyzing the current scenario, we can see that public and private standards don’t influence only the final goods, but also the internal firm organizations: from their strategic behavior to the organization of the supply chain.

Imposing a minimum product standard through regulations affects prices, quantities, and varieties supply chain and the welfare of stakeholders.

Public and Private Food Safety Regulations: an overview on the combination of the two approaches

In according to the last studies, the combination of the two approaches, a more economic and social choice (a socially desirable level of food) on the one hand, and a more industrial-economic choice (cost and competition) on the other hand, would be beneficial for future of research on food safety standards.

In our point of view, the collaboration of public and private regulations about food safety standards and the modern supply chain solutions is important to a better understanding of how markets works, respecting the food safety and assuring safe food until the final markets.

If you are interest about safety food regulations I advice to read the whole article who inspired this post on the Oxford Journals.