Announcements
As a previous e-mail to the list serve indicated, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has released their final report. This included guidelines on both food safety and nutrition, and contain the latest nutritional and dietary guidance for the general public.
The public comment period ends Monday September 27, and there is a public meeting on Tuesday September 21. The press release is at:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040827.html
The report can be found at:
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/report/
-----------------------------------------
The Market and Trade Economics Division is seeking a Ph.D.
economist/agricultural economist to study the effects of regulations and policies on U.S. agriculture and trade during a 3-year appointment. The successful candidate is expected to contribute to the Division's research in several areas where knowledge and experience in institutional/behavioral economics is necessary. This position will require the candidate to model and assess the impact of regulatory policies and practices in areas related such as food safety, invasive species, and other public policy areas that have significant impacts on the global agricultural markets and significant ramifications on the U.S. agricultural sector.
Incumbents would be assigned a project in an area of interest such as (but are not limited to): the impact of invasive species on supply and demand, such as when a disease not previously known in the United States infects plants or animals, and the benefits and costs of control of invasive species; labeling issues; economic impact on the flow of trade of tariffs and quotas, and non-technical barriers (examples are labeling, production system requirements such as pollution controls or animal well-being requirements, or employee welfare); and impacts of food safety concerns on consumer demand as new continental trade agreements and WTO negotiations continue. Other issues such as market impacts of new EPA environmental regulations and confined animal technology need additional coverage. (see attachment for details).
Integration of Economics into Evaluation of Pathogen Reduction Methods Increasing risk and costs from foodborne illness has led food-processing firms to intensify pathogen reduction efforts.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is one system for evaluating which hazards need to be controlled and where in the production process they can be controlled. Firms may choose among many competing technologies that differ in cost and effectiveness at controlling pathogen growth. To evaluate a firm's pathogen control options, a probabilistic risk analysis model based on typical slaughterhouse practices is linked to a decision model to evaluate the cost effectiveness of seven combinations of pathogen-reducing technologies. The likely comparative advantage of different strategies for large vs. small slaughterhouses is examined. Risk is compared for two cases with the same mean risk to illustrate the importance of correct model specification. The article, "Evaluating the Economic Effectiveness of Pathogen Reduction Technologies in Cattle Slaughter Plants," concludes with a discussion of the institutional barriers and incomplete markets that affect the adoption and development of more effective pathogen reduction technologies. The authors are Malcolm, Narrod, Roberts, and Ollinger in Agribusiness, available on-line:
www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/107061414/PDFSTART
FOOD SAFETY INNOVATION IN THE UNITED STATES: EVIDENCE FROM THE MEAT INDUSTRY Recent industry innovations improving the safety of the Nation's meat supply range from new pathogen tests, high-tech equipment, and supply chain management systems, to new surveillance networks. Despite these and other improvements, the market incentives that motivate private firms to invest in innovation seem to be fairly weak. Results from an ERS survey of U.S. meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants and two case studies of innovation in the U.S. beef industry reveal that the industry has developed a number of mechanisms to overcome that weakness and to stimulate investment in food safety innovation.
Released Thursday, April 1, 2004
See http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer831/
SAVVY BUYERS SPUR FOOD SAFETY INNOVATIONS IN MEAT PROCESSING
Recent industry innovations improving the safety of the Nation's meat supply range from new pathogen tests, high-tech equipment, and supply chain management systems, to new surveillance networks. Despite these and other improvements, the market incentives that motivate private firms to invest in innovation seem to be fairly weak. Results from an ERS survey of U.S. meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants and two case studies of innovation in the U.S. beef industry reveal that the industry has developed a number of mechanisms to overcome that weakness and to stimulate investment in food safety innovation.
Released Thursday, April 1, 2004
See http://www.ers.usda.gov/Amberwaves/April04/Features/SavvyBuyers.htm
FOOD TRACEABILITY: ONE INGREDIENT IN A SAFE AND EFFICIENT FOOD SUPPLY
This investigation into the traceability baseline in the United States
finds that private sector food firms have developed a substantial
capacity to trace.
Released Thursday, April 1, 2004
See
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Amberwaves/April04/Features/FoodTraceability.htm
|
