Getting rid of trans fats in the US diet: Policies, incentives and progress

Artificial trans fats in foods increase chronic disease risk in the US population. Federal nutrition label regulation enacted in 2003 requires mandatory disclosure of trans fat content on packaged foods. This action created incentives for the food industry to reduce trans fats both in response to consumer demand and through competition to maintain product reputation. Subsequent public actions include a ban on trans fat use in New York city restaurants and lawsuits against food companies, which created further incentives to remove trans fats, especially in the food service industry. Industry has reformulated packaged foods and found substitutes for restaurant fry oils and trans fats are disappearing from the US food supply. Market response extends throughout the supply chain, and has spurred research to alter oilseed crop characteristics. The widespread and relatively rapid industry response likely has improved the quality of US diets, and demonstrates the potential for policy actions to spur such improvements.     

The economic implications of using HACCP as a food safety regulatory standard

This article discusses the nature and role of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) as a food safety control system and, in particular, its role as an element of public food safety regulation. The notion of efficiency in food safety regulation is discussed and related to the nature of food safety controls. It is suggested that, if appropriately applied, HACCP is a more economically efficient approach to food safety regulation than command and control (CAC) interventions. The economic implications of HACCP are discussed with reference to estimates of the costs and benefits, in particular for the food industry. Finally, the use of HACCP as an international trade standard and the facilitation of trade in processed food products is considered.     

Food product composition,consumer health,and public policy: Introduction and overview of special section

As efforts to improve diets in high income countries intensify, attention has turned to how policies may influence diet composition. The case studies in this special issue contribute to our understanding of how two main types of policies have influenced food product composition and dietary outcomes: (1) policies affecting food manufacturers’ input costs and (2) information policy affecting competition. Research on the first type of policy is relatively new, but suggests that US commodity policies would not be good policy instruments to influence diets, except through the long run impacts of agricultural research. Research on the impacts of information policy continues to demonstrate that it can spur food industry competition to introduce healthier products, but may not result in healthier diets. International comparisons show where the US experience may have relevance for other high income countries.     

Food safety issues and fresh food product exports from LDCs

Fresh food products have a high income elasticity of demand and few traditional trade barriers in high income markets. As such, they represent an important opportunity for less developed country (LDC) exporters. Fresh food product exports account for half of all food and agricultural exports from LDCs to high income countries. But these products may be subject to greater food safety risks and potential trade barriers arising from sanitary regulation. This paper reviews the challenges and issues facing LDCs in meeting food safety standards for export. These issues include: (a) the importance of fresh food product trade by region and the kinds of issues that arise from those products; (b) the role of farm to table approaches and hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) in ensuring safety; (c) the role of the public sector in LDCs in facilitating trade; (d) the potential role of the SPS Agreement in resolving disputes and determining equivalency of standards between high and low income countries.     

Golden rice: what role could it play in alleviation of vitamin A deficiency?

Golden rice (GR) is a new rice variety that has been genetically modified to contain beta-carotene, a source of vA. This modification was undertaken as a strategy to address VAD, which is widespread in less developed countries of Asia. Children’s food intake data from a poor rural region of the Philippines are used to simulate the potential impact of GR on vA intake. The potential impact, coverage of deficient subpopulations, and costs of GR are compared to two other interventions, food fortification and supplementation. While investments in future development of GR compare favorably with other interventions in terms of costs and coverage, GR would deliver amounts of vA that are modest, and unlikely to fulfill requirements. Thus, it should be viewed as a complement to existing interventions. To have greatest impact at a cost comparable with wheat fortification, GR varieties should be suited for widespread adoption in Asia and should deliver as much beta-carotene as possible.