我国食品市场上的质量信号问题

食品质量不仅关系到城乡居民的健康与安全 ,而且关系到中国农业与食物系统的国际竞争力。食物中毒事件的频频发生、新技术对食品品质和口感的影响、环境恶化对农牧渔业产品的污染以及经济全球化过程中境外食品安全等问题 ,已经引起社会各界的普遍关注。口蹄疫、疯牛病、有毒大米、吊白块米粉、瘦肉精猪肉、注水猪肉、农药残留、食品添加剂超标…… ,面对这一系列问题 ,人们不禁要问 :“我们如何才能吃到放心的食品 ?”。根据食品质量本身所兼备的搜寻品、经验品和信任品等特性 ,本文从信息不对称和市场失灵的角度分析了食品市场中的质量信号…     

Adoption of Food Safety and Quality Controls: Do Firm Characteristics Matter? Evidence from the Canadian Food Processing Sector

This study explores the association between the adoption of food safety and quality assurance practices in the Canadian food processing sector and firm characteristics. A conceptual model is developed recognizing that the relative importance of a firm's incentives to adopt enhanced food safety and quality assurance practices is influenced by the firm's characteristics and activities. Binomial logit models are estimated to explore the association between adoption of various combinations of food safety and quality assurance practices including hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP). The findings show that the adoption of food safety and quality practices varies widely between individual firms according to, among others, firm size, country of ownership and control, level of innovativeness, level of export orientation, forms of food safety inspection, and the subsector in which the firm operates. Incentives of being able to access foreign markets play an important role in influencing HACCP adoption. La présente étude analyse le lien entre l'adoption de pratiques visant la salubrité et l'assurance de la qualité des aliments au sein de l'industrie canadienne de la transformation et les caractéristiques des entreprises. Nous avons élaboré un modèle conceptuel reconnaissant que l'importance relative des incitatifs qui motivent une entreprise à adopter des pratiques améliorées en matière de salubrité et d'assurance de la qualité des aliments est influencée par les caractéristiques et les activités de l'entreprise. Nous avons estimé des modèles logit binomiaux pour examiner le lien entre l'adoption de diverses combinaisons de pratiques visant la salubrité et l'assurance de la qualité des aliments, y compris les systèmes HACCP (analyse des risques et maîtrise des points critiques). Les résultats ont montré que l'adoption de ces pratiques variait considérablement d'une entreprise à l'autre en fonction, entre autres, de la taille de l'entreprise, du pays de propriété et de contrôle, du degré d'innovation, du degré de vocation exportatrice, des programmes d'inspection de la salubrité des aliments et du sous‐secteur dans lequel une entreprise évolue. La perspective de pénétrer les marchés étrangers joue un rôle important dans l'adoption de systèmes HACCP.     

Sources of Firm Performance Differences in the US Food Economy

Researchers in economics and strategy have long been interested in understanding the determinants of firm performance. We apply the relatively novel approach of hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) to a large panel of food economy firms to shed new light on the long‐standing debate about the relative importance of industry, corporate parent and business unit effects on firm profits. Our results suggest that business unit and corporate effects are more relevant than industry effects in explaining firm performance differences in the food economy. In addition, we also explore the effect of specific strategic factors on performance within each level of analysis. In particular, we find that business‐segment size, industry barriers to entry, corporate diversification, R&D intensity, capital intensity and resource availability are significant predictor variables that explain firm performance differences. Given the relatively important role of corporate effects and the positive influence of corporate strategic variables on business unit performance, our findings suggest that the environment provided by corporate parents significantly affects business unit profitability. In other words, corporate strategy does matter and thus should continue to draw attention from scholars interested in explaining profitability in the food economy.     

Alternative Hedging Strategies for an Alberta Feedlot Operator

This paper examines the feasibility of a Canadian producer using the U.S. futures markets to hedge specific products. “Multihedging” refers lo a situation where a producer uses several hedges to hedge both inputs and outputs and in doing so locks in a profit margin on his operation or minimizes his losses. In particular, the paper examines the feasibility of hedging two inputs (barley and feeder cattle) and one output (fat cattle). The Chicago Board of Trade corn contract is used to hedge barley; the Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle contract to hedge feeder cattle; and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contract to hedge fat cattle. These hedges are evaluated in terms of the level of returns to the producer, the primary conclusion being that during the period from September, 1975, to January, 1978. an Alberta feedlot operator could have increased his income level by hedging, but in doing so. he would have incurred a greater degree of instability. Cette communication examine la faisabilité pour un producteur canadien d'utiliser le marchéà terme amèricain pour arbitrer desproduits spècifiques. Dans un “multiarbitrage,” un producteur se livre à plusieurs arbitrages sur les entrèes et les sorties; cefaisant, il obtient une marge bénéficiaire ou minimise ses pertes. Cette communication examine en particulier la faisabilité d'arbitrer deux entrèes (orge et betail destinè a la boucherie) et une sortie (bétail engraissè). On utilise le contrat de maïs du “Chicago Board of Trade” pour arbitrer I'orge, le contrat des animaux de boucherie du “Chicago Mercantile Exchange” pour arbitrer les animaux de boucherie, le contrat de bétes sur pied du “Chicago Mercantile Exchange” pour arbitrer le bétail engraissé. On évalue ces arbitrages en fonclion des revenus qu'ils rapportent auproducteur tels que mesuréspar la moyenne et enfonction des variations dans les revenus tels que mesurées par l‘écart.     

The Determinants of Firm Profitability Differences in EU Food Processing

This paper decomposes the variance in EU food industry return‐on‐assets into year, country, industry and firm effects using a hierarchical linear model (HLM). The HLM approach accounts for some of the methodological drawbacks of conventional approaches of variance decomposition such as anova and components of variance and additionally allows the estimation of the impact of covariates within each effect level. The results for selected EU countries show that firm effects are far more important than industry structure in determining food industry profitability. In particular, firm size and industry concentration are drivers of profitability while firm risk and age as well as industry growth have a negative influence.     

The Demand for Food Quality in Rural China

Many studies of food demand do not use actual prices but unit values, obtained by dividing expenditures by the quantity consumed. This can bias empirical analyses because unit values are not exogenous market prices; they reflect household food quality choices within each food category. This article develops a framework for assessing the resulting bias in income and price elasticities of demand and applies the framework to data for rural China. Empirical results indicate that households in rural China tend to consume higher-quality food as income increases, with a greater sensitivity to income for basic foods than for luxury foods.     

The Effectiveness of Alternative Marketing Strategies for Ontario Corn and Soybean Producers

Marketing decisions can be some of the most difficult decisions facing grain and oilseed producers. There is a lack of information about the marketing strategies that are most effective, and there is also a lack of consensus in the literature about whether some types of marketing strategies can consistently perform better than others. This paper uses a simulation model based on daily cash and futures prices to compare returns and risk over time from specific marketing strategies for corn and soybean producers in Ontario. This paper also examines whether there are differences in the relative effectiveness of strategies between higher‐price years and lower‐price years. The results indicate that preharvest marketing strategies for both corn and soybeans tend to generate prices that are much higher than selling everything at harvest (the baseline strategy), particularly for the higher‐price years; however, these differences are not always statistically significant. Preharvest strategies are also found to reduce downside risk relative to the baseline. Les décisions commerciales peuvent représenter certaines des décisions les plus difficiles auxquelles les producteurs de céréales et d’oléagineux sont confrontés. Il existe un manque d’information sur les stratégies commerciales les plus efficaces et un manque de consensus dans la littérature quant à l’existence ou non de stratégies commerciales capables de donner régulièrement de meilleurs résultats que d’autres. Dans le présent article, nous avons utilisé un modèle de simulation fondé sur les prix au comptant et les prix à terme quotidiens afin de comparer, au fil du temps, les rendements et les risques des stratégies commerciales qui sont spécifiques aux producteurs de maïs et de soja de l’Ontario. Nous avons aussi tenté de déterminer s’il existe ou non des écarts d’efficacité relative des stratégies entre les années où les prix sont élevés et les années où les prix sont faibles. Nos résultats indiquent que, dans le cas du maïs et du soja, la stratégie commerciale qui consiste à vendre la production avant la récolte tend à dégager des prix plus élevés que la stratégie commerciale qui consiste à vendre toute la production au moment de la récolte (stratégie de base), particulièrement dans le cas des années où les prix sont élevés. Cependant, ces écarts ne sont pas toujours statistiquement significatifs. Les stratégies de vente avant récolte contribueraient également à réduire le risque de perte en cas de baisse comparativement à la stratégie de base.     

Innovation and University‐Firm R&D Collaboration in the European Food and Drink Industry

In the National Innovation System (NIS), knowledge is produced and accumulated through interactive innovation processes that are embedded in a national context, which in turn may help determine innovation. This paper investigates how product and process innovations in the European food and drink industry are affected by: (i) NIS structure; (ii) NIS output in terms of scientific publications and the supply of graduates; (iii) NIS cohesion and coordination; (iv) NIS scientific impact and specialisation. The main source of data on innovation by firms is the EU‐EFIGE/Bruegel‐UniCredit dataset. This is supplemented by information from the International Handbook of Universities, Eurostat and a bibliometric analysis of academic research output. Our results suggest that large research institutions in the public sector may well be detrimental to interaction between university and industry and to process innovation. The indicators used for public research assessment are not necessarily the most appropriate proxies of local knowledge spillovers.     

食品安全保障：从质量标准体系到供应链综合管理

在过去的几年里 ,不少国家均程度不同地相继发生过这样或那样的食品安全问题 ,其中 ,有因激素使用产生的问题 ,也有沙门氏菌污染、农药中有毒化学成份等有毒物质在食品中残留产生的问题 ,以及其他卫生和环境污染引发的问题。现在 ,人们又对疯牛病、口蹄疫蔓延产生恐惧 ,对转基因作物问题极为担扰和关切。由此 ,许多国家 (特别是西方国家 )出现了消费者对食品安全的信任危机。在我国 ,食品安全问题同样也不容忽视。农产品在种植、养殖过程中 ,不同程度地受到农药、化肥、工业“三废”的污染 ,乱用激素则给人体健康带来严重隐患。因此 ,对于食…     

Incorporation and Resistance: Analytical Issues in the Conventionalization Debate and Alternative Food Chains

This article examines arguments about the relationship between mainstream agriculture and alternative food chains. It begins with a summary of Guthman's study of organic agriculture in California and her conclusion that it has come to resemble conventional, industrial agriculture in its agrarian structures and its supply chains. The article raises questions about both the evidence that smaller alternative producers have been squeezed out, and the assumptions underlying the analysis of relations between capitalist and non-capitalist forms. The issues are contextualized through a summary of earlier debates about the fate of non-capitalist producers in the 'development' process, and through reference to studies in economic anthropology, including research on household farming strategies in Italy. The article concludes that alternative food chains do not follow a simple linear trajectory, and that we need to include an ethnographic approach to understand both their economic values and political objectives.     

Consumer Valuation of Food Quality and Food Safety Attributes in Vietnam

Food systems in developing countries are currently undergoing a profound transformation toward high-value products. Appropriate policies are needed to guide this transformation, presupposing good understanding of consumer preferences. We analyze consumers' valuation of different vegetable attributes in metropolitan areas of Vietnam, using contingent valuation techniques and a mediation framework for two specific examples. Consumers are willing to pay an average price premium of 60% for Chinese mustard that is free of chemical residues and of 19% for different convenience attributes of potatoes. Income levels and media have positive impacts on the willingness to pay, partly mediated through consumer perceptions.     

食品微生物检测的质量控制措施分析

现如今,人们对于自身的身体健康和生活质量等方面有着高质量的要求,食品安全问题逐渐受到重视。为保证食品安全,相关部门要及时开展相应的食品检测工作,其中微生物检测尤为重要。本文主要分析了食品微生物检测的主要内容及食品微生物检测技术的应用,并制定了相应的质量控制措施,以促使食品微生物检测工作水平及质量的不断提升,进而可以更好地控制食品中的微生物含量,保证我国的食品安全,保障人们的身体健康。     

提高耕地质量对保障粮食安全更为重要

研究目的:探讨提高耕地质量和粮食生产能力的重要性和措施。研究方法:比较分析法和数据统计法。研究结果:耕地质量对社会经济发展和粮食安全的保障具有重要的促进作用;由土地退化、土壤污染等原因造成的农用地质量下降和农业生产能力低下,已对国家粮食安全构成严重威胁。研究结论:现阶段应多管齐下,大力提升耕地质量和粮食生产能力,不仅要高度重视土地污染问题,转变传统粮食供给观念,而且要加大工业反哺农业政策的力度,改变强调数量为主的占补平衡观念,代以新补耕地数量、产量不低于被占用耕地数量、产量的双向衡量标准,保障社会经济的全面发展。     

政府监管与食品质量安全

食品质量属性决定了买卖双方对安全食品信息拥有上的不对称,强化政府监管是解决由此导致的市场失灵问题的重要途径。食品质量安全监管本质上是政府相关部门与食品生产经营者之间的博弈过程。本文对此进行的博弈均衡分析表明,政府监管的有效性取决于不断降低监督检查成本、降低以缺陷食品冒充安全食品坑害消费者而获得的额外预期收益、以及加大对违规的惩罚力度。     

从食物消费需求角度谈中国土地利用战略

研究目的:从食物消费需求角度,研究中国土地利用战略,为保障中国食物安全和加强土地资源有效管理提供科学依据。研究方法:文献分析法,归纳总结法。研究结果:随着人均收入的增加,城乡居民对粮食的消费需求呈减少趋势,而对动物性食物消费尤其是家禽和水产品消费将会显著增加。中国城乡居民食物消费结构及水平地域差异明显。中国饲料用粮和工业用粮持续增长,占粮食总消费量的比重不断提高。粮食非主产区应转变主销区的观念,承担相应的粮食生产任务。中国粮食生产的重心已由南方向北方、东部向中部推移,应该加强对北方及中部新增长中心的潜力挖掘。研究结论:树立大食物观念,着眼于各类土地资源;因地制宜调整农用地结构,加强耕地质量保护;转变传统粮食供给观念,提高非主产区食物供给能力;加强粮食主产区建设,进一步提升粮食主产区粮食生产能力。