Livestock Identification

Abstract

An array of concerns about animal health, potential bio-terrorism, food safety, international trade, consumer demand for credence attributes, and improving supply chain management are igniting unprecedented change in the international meat and livestock market. One noteworthy development is accelerated advancement of national individual animal identification programs. This study reviews how these systems work and what motivates animal traceback system implementation. A case study approach is used to overview an extensive system currently being used and developed in Australia. Based upon the Australian experience, we present recommendations for pending U.S. animal identification systems.     

Traceability, Liability, and Incentives for Food Safety and Quality

Recent food scares such as the discoveries of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and E. coli -contaminated spinach have heightened interest in food traceability. Here, we show how exogenous increases in food traceability create incentives for farms and marketing firms to supply safer food by increasing liability costs. We model a stylized marketing chain composed of farms, marketers, and consumers. Unsafe food for consumers can be caused by either marketers or farms. We show that food safety declines with the number of farms and marketers and imperfect traceability from consumers to marketers dampens liability incentives to supply safer food by farms.     

Consumer Concern About Food Safety and Its Impact on Their Familiarity With Food Traceability Systems in China

Consumer familiarity is critical in the promotion of food traceability systems. The authors used consumer survey data from four cities in China to conduct a quantitative investigation of consumer concern about food safety and its impact on the consumers’ familiarity with food traceability systems. Statistical analysis and a Probit model were used, and the results show a high level of consumer concern about food safety. In contrast, consumers’ familiarity with food traceability systems is very low. Consumers’ concern about food safety significantly influences their familiarity with food traceability systems. In addition, consumers’ age, work experiences related to the food industry, and habit of asking for food receipts or invoices all have significant influences on their familiarity with food traceability systems.     

Improvements in pesticide drift reduction technology (DRT) call for improving liability provisions to offer incentives for adoption

BackgroundThe widespread use of pesticides has contributed to increased crop productivity accompanied by problems of releasing toxic substances into the environment. One of the concerns is the release of pesticide spray drift that is carried to off-target properties causing injuries.ObjectivesIn 2016, the EPA released a generic verification protocol for pesticide drift reduction technology (DRT). With this protocol, applicators of pesticides can select verified products and equipment with the assurance that the technology will reduce the risk of spray drift damages, but there are inadequate incentives for its adoption.DiscussionDrift reduction technology can only reduce injuries to people, flora, and fauna if it is adopted by applicators. To address incentives for adoption, an analysis of liability provisions governing spray drift damages suggests that the jurisprudence governing liability might need updating to capture technological benefits. Two proposed legislative provisions are offered that would incorporate DRT into negligence law.ConclusionThrough the amendment of negligence law, liability provisions for pesticide spray drift damages can offer encouragement for applicators to adopt DRT.     

Traceability in the Canadian Red Meat Sector: Do Consumers Care?

Increased traceability of food and food ingredients through the agri-food chain has featured in recent industry initiatives in the Canadian livestock sector and is an important facet of the new Canadian Agricultural Policy Framework (APF). While traceability is usually implicitly associated with ensuring food safety and delivering quality assurances, there has been very little economic analysis of the functions of traceability systems and the value that consumers place on traceability assurances. This paper examines the economic incentives for implementing traceability systems in the meat and livestock sector. Experimental auctions are used to assess the willingness to pay of Canadian consumers for a traceability assurance, a food safety assurance, and an on-farm production method assurance for beef and pork products. Results from these laboratory market experiments provide insights into the relative value for Canadian consumers of traceability and quality assurances. Traceability, in the absence of quality verification, is of limited value to individual consumers. Bundling traceability with quality assurances has the potential to deliver more value.     

EU Requirements for Food Safety and Quality Systems in Turkey: Determinants of Perceptions

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is one of Turkey’s most important trade partners. A large number of Turkish agri-food processors, however, are still unable to produce in accordance with the EU specifications. Furthermore, it is uncertain how Turkish food producers perceive the EU regulations. Based on a questionnaire survey of 99 Turkish agri-food enterprises from various industry subsectors and a conceptual framework including knowledge, personal and economic perspectives, this article assesses perceptions of the EU requirements regarding food safety and quality systems in the Turkish agri-food industry. The results indicate that those perceptions vary widely among the processors depending on education level, firm size, and legal form of ownership. Moreover, subjective information related to the perceptions regarding advantages, requirements, and costs of food safety and quality practices significantly contributes to the perceptions examined. The findings have manifold implications which should be taken into account when adapting Turkish legislation to reflect EU regulations.     

国外畜产品质量控制的措施与启示

[目的]近年来,由于多种原因,我国畜产品质量安全事件比如瘦肉精、三聚氰胺、苏丹红等不断发生,不仅为畜产品消费者的健康和利益带来巨大隐患和损害,也严重阻碍了我国畜牧业的健康持续发展和国际竞争力的提升。[方法]文章利用文献调查法了解国际上畜产品质量控制得比较好的国家和地区比如美国、欧盟及其成员国、澳大利亚等,在多年的发展中积累的丰富的经验和先进的技术,可从多个角度为我国提供借鉴。[结果]该文首先论述和分析了美国、欧盟及其成员国(英、法、德)和澳大利亚等关于畜产品质量控制的主要措施,这些措施主要包括其完善的法律体系、合理有效的监管体系、科学的风险分析制度、认证制度和先进的质量可追溯体系等方面。[结论]以此为基础进一步提出我国今后应该建立起完善的法律体系、合理的监管体系、科学的可追溯体系和严格的市场准入制度,来进一步强化和提升我国畜产品质量控制的水平。     

Valuing the benefits and costs of improved food safety and nutrition

Assuring the quality of food products, especially their safety and nutrition levels, is an increasing focus for governments, companies, and international trade bodies. In choosing quality assurance programs, public and private decision-makers must assess the benefits and costs of expected improvements in food safety and nutrition. This article discusses methods for measuring these benefits and costs as well as how these valuations are related to the mix of voluntary and mandatory quality management systems used in particular countries or trading blocs. These relationships are illustrated by a short case study of safety assurance systems for meat and poultry products.     

Legal systems, institutional environment, and food safety

In the aftermath of the recent food scares, the United States and the United Kingdom face major challenges to maintain a safe food system. Regulators on opposite sides of the Atlantic are facing rapid product and process innovations, changes in consumption behaviors, expansion of international trade, and discovery of new food hazards. The U.K. and the U.S. demonstrate different approaches to manage safety risks. This article will focus on two issues: the reasons behind the differences in the American and English policy approaches to food safety, and how these differences impact U.S. safety outcomes. A comparative legal framework is provided to understand how food safety is elicited in the economy and the incentive implications of the different institutional settings. These two different lenses, because they differ so, teach us about the fundamental sources of safety. The U.K.'s prevalent doctrine is parliamentary sovereignty and leads to a regulatory framework, while the U.S. is based on constitutional supremacy and relies on a legal framework. The source of safety under a regulatory framework is the government bureaucracy, while the U.S. legal framework provides an important point of departure—the constitutional standing of the firm and the consumer. We argue that while the U.K. system is structured to work through a regulatory framework to enhance the supply of safety in the economy, the U.S. system is much less directed. The legal system, the subject of this article, plays an important role not only in discouraging breach but also in acting as a check on the discretionary authority of the regulator. In the end, the U.S. and the U.K. may have equally safe food systems, but what differs is the fundamental source of the safety supply. The practical implication is that safety in the food system emerges from several sources, not just through regulation. Therefore, direct importation of U.K.‐style regulatory approaches may not be effective within a U.S. constitutional setting.     

Consumer Attitudes Toward Mandatory Traceability and Labeling Systems for Farmed Atlantic Salmon

The food incidence of polychlorinated biphenyls in farmed Atlantic salmon in Canada and its subsequent effects on the demand for farm-raised salmon has induced policymakers and stakeholders to develop new policies on food safety. This article analyzes consumer attitudes toward mandatory traceability and labeling systems for farmed Atlantic salmon in Newfoundland and Labrador. It identifies factors affecting consumers' decisions to purchase the product. Results show that consumers, on average, perceive the benefits of traceability and labeling systems on farm-raised Atlantic salmon in spite of its driving up the product price.     

试谈对法律责任适用中竞合问题的处理

《森林法》是我国林业建设的基本法 ,它既是一部护林法 ,又是一部兴林法 ,保护森林资源是森林法的宗旨。但现实中破坏森林资源的行为时有发生 ,我国《森林法》专章规定了对违反森林法规定的行为所应承担的法律后果。违反森林法律规范是产生法律责任的前提 ,法律制裁则是法律责任的必然后果。根据违反森林法律规范行为的性质和程度不同 ,森林法中的法律责任主要分为刑事责任和行政责任。责任种类差别决定执行处罚的机关不同 ,而不同机关对违法行为处罚所适用的程序法和实体法也不同 ,因此各种责任在适用中会出现竞合情况。正确处理好各种责任之间的衔接 ,首先要区分违反森林法律规范的性质 ,即是一般违法行为还是犯罪 ,这是处理行政责任和刑事责任适用衔接的前提和基础。     

水产食品企业实施可追溯体系的意义及措施

随着水产食品全球化供给的增加,以及近来食源性疾病的不断爆发,人们越来越关注水产食品安全问题,因此,许多国家和消费者将建立水产食品可追溯体系视为降低水产食品不安全性和增强消费者信心的有力武器。本文首先就水产食品可追溯体系产生的背景及原因进行了简要的阐述并给出了水产食品可追溯体系的定义,接着提出了建立可追溯体系给我国水产食品生产企业带来的利益,最后就我国水产食品生产企业如何建立和实施水产食品可追溯体系提出了建议。     

食品安全追溯系统的分析与研究

食品是人们生活中的必需品,因此,食品安全问题受到人们的广泛关注。本文阐述了食品安全追溯系统采用的主要技术和食品安全追溯系统的构建,为推进我国食品安全管理提供参考。     

Do IMF Programmes Have a Catalytic Effect on Other International Capital Flows?

It has frequently been assumed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays an important catalysing role in mobilizing international capital for developing countries and countries in transition. The Fund has conventionally been depicted as a "gatekeeper" that unlocks financial flows from other sources, particularly private international capital markets. However, more recently, international financial crises have highlighted the problem of capital volatility and have led to calls for reform of the international financial architecture and, as part of this, the IMF. Unfortunately, basic questions about the interaction between current institutional arrangements and international capital markets have yet to be answered. How do international capital markets react to the activities of the IMF? Do the reactions of private and public lenders differ? Have their reactions changed over time? Do market responses depend on country characteristics and on the type of IMF involvement and, if so, how? This paper addresses these questions and goes on to discuss the policy implications that arise.     

农户参与食品质量安全追溯体系的行为与效益分析——以北京市蔬菜种植农户为例

本文利用访谈资料和问卷调查数据,重点分析北京市蔬菜种植农户参与食品质量安全追溯体系的路径、行为特征、生产效益和行为选择.研究发现,政府的积极推动和产业化组织的带动在北京市食品质量安全追溯体系发展中发挥了关键作用,但也存在企业动力不足和农户参与难的问题;农户参与食品质量安全追溯体系后生产行为规范有显著改善,交易费用降低,...     

Consumers' Perception of Food Product Quality in Tunisia

Abstract

This paper investigates consumers' perception of food quality in Tunisia. In fact, the development of quality standards is driven by government regulations and mostly in response to export markets regulations. The role of consumers in this process is quite missing. This paper first highlights the current food safety and quality programs undertaken by the Tunisian government. Second, we use a sample of 150 consumers chosen at random at two of the largest hypermarkets in Tunisia to analyze consumers' behavior regarding quality. The paper shows strong concerns about hygiene among other quality attributes and strong awareness about quality and quality assurance schemes in general. Consumers are also motivated by habits of consuming home made products for hygiene and taste reasons. If appropriate quality systems were implemented to assure consumers about such attributes this would boost up demand for quality products.     

我国土壤污染防治的立法保护

基于我国土壤污染防治的现状及土壤污染防治立法的法理基础,分析我国制定《土壤污染防治法》的必要性与可行性,提出《土壤污染防治法》的立法构想。解决立法中如何界定土壤与土壤污染的概念、如何将土壤作为独立的环境要素进行保护、如何理顺《土壤污染防治法》与其他污染防治法的关系及其立法层级等迫切需要解决的相关立法技术问题。进行相关的土壤污染防治立法的可行性制度设计,在制度设计的基础上提出相关法律责任的制定,并提出我国土壤污染防治法的结构框架。     

Legal,Ethical, or Responsible Food

The article discusses the concepts of legal, ethical, and responsible food in international food business. Food rules are divided into 3 categories: rules you follow because you have to (law), rules you follow because it is right (ethics), and rules you follow because it gives you a competitive advantage (responsibility). Food issues that need to be addressed include consumer rights (safety, nutrition, marketing), environmental issues (climate, eutrophication, biodiversity), employee policies, animal welfare, and fair trade practices. The laws of various countries often leave room for ethics and responsibility. This room varies between countries and elements of responsibility. In the European Union, United States, and China, market focus is on somewhat different food issues. Retailers and consumers drive food companies toward change, and the level of effort required is defined through combining food company values and stakeholder views.     

Open Agricultural Markets and Trade Foster Development of LDC's

Small economies with a narrow resource base need open international trade more than a large country with a wide range of resources. This paper discusses the role of open markets and trade in development of LDC's. It emphasizes the importance of constitutional law that guarantees basic freedoms of choice as the foundation of open market systems. Governments most useful role in development is to provide essential public services and infrastructure and to provide the legal and economic environment for opportunity, incentives and innovation.     

Factors Affecting European Food Retailers' Internationalisation

Abstract

This paper aims to identify the critical factors that support European food retailers' internationalisation via an investigation of the importance of Dunning's eclectic paradigm advantages (ownership, location and internalisation). Senior managers from seven firms that operate in the Greek food multiple retail sector were interviewed, and three propositions were put on test.

In general, the findings indicate the critical role of the internalisation advantage during the international expansion of European food multiple retailers into that market.

The findings also reveal that this advantage is the main superior and sustainable competitive element that European food multiple retailers possess when competing with local firms. The latter can be considered as an extension to the findings of previous studies that have exclusively emphasised the importance of ownership advantage factors in the course of the retail internationalisation process.