Examining Producer's Willingness to Incur Costs for Adopting Food Safety: A Case From Fresh Produce Farmers in Nepal

<scp>IFST</scp> vision for a <scp>UK</scp>‐wide national food strategy

Food safety issues have received increased attention from scientific and consumer groups alike in recent years. Pathogenic microbiological agents have been shown to be a major contributor to food-borne illnesses in the United States. The presence and cost of these pathogens has become a major issue for policy makers, consumers, and producers;Estimated economic losses to society attributable to food-borne diseases have been large. These estimated losses usually have been based on direct consumer losses and likely represent an underestimation of the true economic costs. Morbidity costs, such as consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce their chance of becoming sick from a food-borne sickness, have not been included, leading to an underestimation of economic costs;With this in mind, this study focuses on developing an experimental approach which can be used to evaluate consumer WTP for safer food and willingness to accept (WTA) a typical unsafe food. Information on consumers' WTP and WTA for food safety is obtained through a nonhypothetical laboratory experimental approach. The often-observed divergences in WTP and WTA measures of market and nonmarket goods are examined and explained. A Vickrey second-price sealed-bid auction, with multiple trials, was used to elicit consumers' WTP and WTA values. Five food-borne pathogens were analyzed: Campylobacter, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, and Trichinella spiralis. Experiments were conducted on WTP and WTA for all five pathogens. Iowa State University students were the participants for each experiment. A new set of participants was used for each experiment;This study examined the disparity between WTP and WTA measures for a food item, a market good, and for food safety, a nonmarket good. Results showed that the disparity of these two measures is very small for perfect substitutes such as food and wealth. However, observed divergences were much larger for the imperfect substitutes such as food safety and wealth;The results indicate that WTP is more appropriate than WTA for food safety policy analysis. This provides a better estimate of society's WTP and the economic value of enhanced food safety measures. The WTP to completely remove food-borne pathogens from the U.S. food supply was estimated at 91 billion, a value which is far greater than that provided in previous research.

This study tested whether information on positive food additives and negative food additives had an effect on consumers’ risk perception and their willingness to accept (WTA) food with additives. Consumers’ WTA was examined via a random nth-price auction of exchanging freshly squeezed orange juice without additives for orange juice with additives. Results show that consumers’ WTA differs with the order in which information was provided. Consumers are generally more sensitive to negative than positive information on additives. Female, middle-educated consumers are more susceptible to additive information and their WTA is more likely to change, while postgraduate-educated consumers are less sensitive to additive information. Consumers with higher food-safety satisfaction have lower WTA than those who are not satisfied with food safety. However, their satisfaction is easily affected by the negative-information intervention. Interestingly, consumers with relatively good knowledge of additives had higher WTA than those with no such knowledge. This study provides insight on how to establish effective food-safety-risk communication. Government and non-government agencies need to timely and accurately eliminate food-safety scares through the daily communication and disclosure of food-safety information, as well as prevent the misguidance of negative food safety-risk information.

Networking to reduce microbial risk in foods

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries

From the Chief Executive and <scp>IFST</scp> News

PROTOCOL: Impact of the food environment on diet-related health outcomes in school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Access to sufficient safe food is a basic requirement for human health. Ensuring food safety and security in a highly globalized world presents increasingly difficult, and often under-appreciated challenges, for governments, commercial organizations and individuals alike.1,2 The risks of unsafe food are substantial, but can be difficult to quantify. Diarrhoeal diseases – both foodborne and waterborne – kill an estimated two million people annually, including many children in developing countries. Food contaminants, such as harmful parasites, bacteria, viruses, prions, chemical or radioactive substances, cause more than 200 diseases – ranging from infectious diseases to cancers.3 In parallel with the increasing size of the world population, consumer demand for a wider variety of foods is growing, entailing a longer and more complex food-chain. In this context, for the World Health Day, on 7 April 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen to focus on food safety. Today, food ingredients often come from multiple countries, with each item having travelled thousands of kilometres from a field, farm or factory. Contamination at one end of the food-chain can affect populations on the other side of the world. Given the interaction of multiple actors separated by vast distances and potentially delayed impacts, multisectoral and international cooperation is essential. Food safety needs strengthening in many countries – but no country can do this alone. World Health Day is one of a series of actions that WHO is taking to raise awareness about the food safety agenda and to galvanize action. WHO, in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has had a central international role in developing guidelines to strengthen and harmonize food systems, in particular through the jointly managed Codex Alimentarius Commission. Codex standards have become the de facto international standards for food safety. WHO and FAO also manage the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), which provides timely information during food safety emergencies4 and assists countries in building strong systems to prevent such incidents. WHO has also established the Global Foodborne Infections Network5 to promote integrated, laboratory-based surveillance and foster multisectoral collaboration. In 2010, the 63rd World Health Assembly adopted a resolution to advance food safety.6 As a result, a strategic plan was developed which requires WHO to: (i) provide the evidence base for measures to decrease foodborne health risks along the entire food-chain; (ii) improve international and national cross-sectoral collaboration, including communication and advocacy; and (iii) provide leadership and assist in the development and strengthening of risk-based, integrated national systems for food safety.7 In November 2014, the second International Conference on Nutrition8 reaffirmed the right for everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food; the need to strengthen food production and distribution systems and the importance of fair trade practices. Recently, WHO has also provided guidance on food safety for food producers, transporters and consumers.9 There is a need to refocus attention and to re-energize commitments on food safety – especially coordinated and cooperative actions and communications across borders. Better data and methods are needed to estimate the health impact of foodborne diseases and to guide response and prevention actions. This year, WHO will release the first comprehensive estimates of the global burden of death and illness caused by foodborne diseases.10 More investment is needed in national food safety systems, reflecting the importance of food safety as a public health priority. Governments have several key roles to play. In addition to setting policies, they are critical for establishing and implementing the national food safety systems within which food producers and suppliers must operate. Consumers can stay informed, for example, through self-education and by reading labels on packaging. In the 21st century, collaboration is vital to achieving safe food-chains that cross national borders. This is why WHO works closely with FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and other international organizations to ensure food is safe to eat. This year’s World Health Day is an opportunity to strengthen food safety across all borders and stakeholders.

Impacts of Microbial Food Safety in China and Beyond.

Awakening from the listeriosis crisis: Food safety challenges, practices and governance in the food retail sector in South Africa

Unsafe food is a global concern as it causes significant health risks to a large number of people. It has many and varied short and long-term health impacts such as salmonellosis, shigellosis, typhoid fever and even cancer. Therefore, safe food is the central concern for all stakeholders in the food system from producers to the marketplace to the household where the food is finally consumed. As an end point of the food safety chain, consumers demonstrate various strategies to ensure safe food from purchasing to consumption. Consumers’ food purchasing behaviour is greatly influenced by culture, economy, psychology and lifestyle. Therefore, understanding consumer attitude towards safe food is an important aspect for ensuring safe food and reducing foodborne illnesses in a community. In developing countries like Bangladesh, food contamination and the food adulteration situation are widely known public health issues as well as concerns of growing importance in recent times. However, very little is known about consumer safe food purchasing behaviour in Bangladesh. Hence, this current research attempts to explore primary household food purchasers’ (PHFP) perception of safe food, their information sources of safe food knowledge and application of this knowledge when purchasing safe foods. To evaluate these, the current study applied a mixed method approach where quantitative surveys and qualitative focus group discussions were used as data collection methods. The findings of the study revealed that the primary household food purchaser (PHFP) was more concerned about the usage of chemicals in food and they reported considering chemical food hazards during food purchasing. Among other safe food purchasing factors freshness was found as one of the most important factors. Besides freshness, the PHFP considered appearance, taste, colour, seasonality, origin of the product and expiry date, as features to guide safe food purchasing. More than 50% of the PHFP reported that` safe food has not been diminished in the last five years in Bangladesh. Most of the PHFP relied on friends and family members as their information sources for safe food purchasing. Regardless of their perception, the PHFP showed much concern about safe food, hence, further planning and implementation of food safety related programs, as well as better education about safe food can help to mitigate these issues in this community. A number of recommendations were provided to inform future food safety related programs and additional research that aims to reduce foodborne illnesses in this community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year from foodborne illness. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) shifted the focus of the Food and Drug Administration from response, to prevention of foodborne illness. The FSMA identified seven rules related to food safety prevention measures, including inspection and compliance, response and enhanced partnerships to ensure food safety along the food system, and employee-training compliance measures. Increasing access to healthy, local foods has economic, public health, and environmental benefits. Farm to Institution policies are becoming more popular nationally, but pose concerns related to food safety, labor and liability, food preparation, sourcing products, cost, and seasonality of local products. The West Virginia Fresh Food Act (HB 2396) requires institutions to purchase a minimum of five percent of fresh produce, meat and poultry products from West Virginia producers and processors. Increasing access requires all food actors to be in compliance with FSMA rules as they relate to their scope of engagement with the food system. Produce processors are required to have advanced food safety training in better process controls to be FSMA compliant. This mixed-methods descriptive research study uses a two-phase, mixed methods design to describe the role of produce processors in food safety as constructed by federal food safety regulations and as perceived by food workers in the context of their everyday lives and work experiences. Produce processors require FSMA compliant education to take advantage of Farm to Institution opportunities associated with HB 2396. This research can inform the development of scale-appropriate food processor education to foster this market opportunity and its contribution to regional food system development. As the demand for local food increases, it is critical to further examine produce processor perspectives related to food safety and local food marketing. This research identified (n=11) commercial food processors operating in non-profit kitchens. The majority of operators were white women, above the age of 45, in rural towns with annual sales less than $50,000. When correcting for college education, there was a significant association between perception of time commitments associated with food safety training and rural environments. Perceived barriers identified include lack of centralized information for food safety, access to environments, and access to Process Control Authority and expertise. The results of this research informed the development of a food safety outreach program entitled The House Food Safety Program

The globalization of trade, which has contributed to food availability and diversification throughout the world, has also increased the chances that the food produced in one place will affect the health and diet of people living in another. As a result, global food safety and nutrition measures applicable across borders, institutions and disciplines, including the establishment of evidence-based international standards on food safety and nutrition, are more important than ever before. Since its inception in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission has developed hundreds of such standards and provided guidance for improving food safety and nutrition in each of its member states and globally. The Commission, whose 186 members represent 99% of the world’s population, is the principal body of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Food Standards Programme.1 In addition to international food safety and nutrition standards, it develops guidelines and codes of practice, also intended to protect consumers’ health as well as to ensure fair practices in the food trade. Its standards and related texts cover an impressively wide range of subjects of international relevance having to do with biotechnology, pesticides, pathogens, additives and contaminants, food labelling, reference values for nutrients (particularly those related to the risk of noncommunicable diseases) and many other areas. In 1995, the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures called on members of the World Trade Organization to harmonize their national regulations to Codex standards,2 which have since become international benchmarks for food safety. Over the decades the Commission has benefited from the scientific and technical advice provided by WHO. In collaboration with FAO, WHO has convened international meetings of experts to address emerging or emergency issues and provide independent risk assessments, and the recommendations from these meetings feed directly into the Commission’s standard-setting process. Four expert groups meet regularly: the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has carried out risk assessments related to food additives, contaminants, natural toxins and veterinary drug residues in food since 1956; the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues has assessed since 1963 the potential health effects of pesticide residues and recommends safe maximum residue levels for specific food commodities; the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment has focused since 2000 on risk assessments for selected pathogen–commodity combinations, and the recently-established Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Nutrition provide scientific advice on nutritional matters. Although Codex standards are sometimes viewed as “trade standards”, their primary purpose is to protect consumers’ health by ensuring the safety and nutritional quality of food products traded worldwide. The importance of this work is evidenced by the large burden of food- and diet-related disorders and illness. Foodborne and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases kill an estimated 2.2 million people annually, most of them children3 and food containing harmful levels of chemicals can cause serious health problems, including cancer. Excessive intake of calories can lead to obesity and to conditions such as diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, cancer, hypertension and stroke.4,5 On the other hand, lack of sufficient food and vitamin and mineral deficiencies also cause enormous numbers of deaths and disability. Stunting, a mark of chronic undernutrition, affects 165 million children younger than 5 years and an estimated 35% of all deaths among children in this age group are associated with undernutrition.6 Foodborne diseases and malnutrition undermine not only human health and productivity, but also countries’ potential for sustainable development. As the Commission celebrates 50 years of successful work, it may be a good time to reflect on its trajectory and how it can serve the public interest even better. Over the years the Commission has become more inclusive. Thanks to the work of the FAO/WHO Project and Trust Fund for Enhanced Participation in Codex, launched in 2003, more countries in development and with economies in transition are actively participating in the Commission. The openness, transparency and precision of its reporting and prioritization procedures have been improved. Nonetheless, today’s rapid changes in trade, travel and commerce call for an international standard-setting system that is able to respond more quickly to new situations. One way to achieve this might be through better use of modern information technology. Stronger support of national Codex contact points is needed as well, but equally necessary are heightened political will and an acknowledgement of the importance of food safety and nutrition in public health. Because trade, nutrition and food safety are so closely connected, closer collaboration between different sectors and strengthened interactions between the Codex and other global players will be essential.

PurposeUnsafe food consumption results in adverse health conditions, foodborne illness and undernutrition among households and communities. The consumption of food contaminated with harmful microorganisms or with harmful pesticide residuals results in adverse health conditions and undernutrition. However, there are a number of challenges to maintaining food safety in the food systems of developing countries, like Nepal, where awareness of food safety is low and research on these issues is lacking.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted an experiment among youth aged between 20 and 26 years in Nepal to assess their food safety awareness and affinity to safer fresh produce choices. In the classroom setting experimentations with and without information nudges conducted among 224 youth participants, participants chose one fresh produce packet among the four. We analyzed results using multinomial and mixed logit models appropriate for discrete choice modeling.FindingsWe found that the youth’s perceived higher importance of sustainable food systems and their knowledge levels on microbial contamination and foodborne illnesses play significantly positive roles. The likelihood of choosing microbial safety-labeled fresh produce or both microbial- and chemical safety-labeled fresh produce increased with nudging among those who have some knowledge of microbial contamination and foodborne illnesses – we found that the interaction of nudging and level of knowledge is significantly positive. Youth belonging to higher income classes do not necessarily have a higher affinity to safer fresh produce but with nudging, the higher income class youth have a higher likelihood of choosing safer fresh produce choices.Research limitations/implicationsYouth engagement and their awareness of food safety could be one of the important strategies to potentially develop them as effective promoters, adopters and educators in enhancing food safety in food systems in Nepal. Our predicted premium for food safety attributes points to the potential scope for the emerging market segment or business opportunities augmenting food safety in Nepal.Originality/valueWe examined the factors influencing the safer fresh produce choices among youth in Nepal. We tested whether awareness levels of microbial contamination and foodborne illness and information nudging affect the likelihood of safer fresh produce choice. Then we predicted the willingness to pay (premium) for safety attributes. To the best of our knowledge, none of the previous studies have examined this aspect in Nepal.

Since veterinary medicine plays an important role in assuring a nation's food safety, therefore the present status of our food safety, where large numbers of consumers in Bangladesh have become victims of consuming adulterated foods, needs to be enhanced and governed by the guideline of veterinary and public health educators. This article highlights the need of an integrated collaborative approach between academicians and government officials for the creation and dissemination of food-safety teaching driving force to mitigate food borne diseases, ensure food safety, control mischievous and fraudulent adulteration – all destined to a harmonious national health strategic action plan. Veterinary education is very effective for cor- rect implementation of the stable to table concept and best serves the public when it is updated on current market needs of food products and measures protecting animal health. Universities in Europe and USA have adjusted their veterinary medicine curricula during the past few years. Experts predicted determinant changes by 2020 that would influence the work of the veterinarians. All of them are in favor of placing food quality and food safety and public health as the highest priorities in future veterinary education. In Bangladesh, Universities and Veterinary Colleges are producing qualified Veterinary Food Hygienists to deal with matters of health and demands for consumers’ food protection. The veterinary education blends veterinarians with strong capacity to advocate the assurance of food quality and safety from farm to fork. Government in collaboration with veterinary food hygienist should advocate academic and field covered sciencebased food safety system. It is hoped that in the near future Bangladesh will come forward with veterinary public health responsibilities incorporated in national food safety program. The concerned authorities in collaboration with international public health authority like WHO should establish a center for food safety, food quality control, and zoonoses.