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Offsetting behavior and the benefits of food safety policies in vegetable preparation and consumption
Author(s) -
Nganje William,
Miljkovic Dragan,
Ndembe Elvis
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
agribusiness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1520-6297
pISSN - 0742-4477
DOI - 10.1002/agr.20240
Subject(s) - food safety , consumption (sociology) , harm , hazard analysis and critical control points , business , environmental health , public economics , economics , food science , medicine , psychology , social psychology , social science , chemistry , sociology
Outbreaks of foodborne illnesses have an effect on the development of public health policy. Due to safety‐related uncertainties in the food supply chain, various regulatory safety and health policies are implemented to decrease potential harm to likely victims. The expected effect of these food‐safety policies forecasted in terms of reduction in foodborne illnesses, mortality, and food‐related diseases may be overstated if consumers' offsetting behavior is overlooked. Reduction and, in some cases, reversal of direct policy effect may occur. This research tests the presence of dominant or partial offsetting behavior in the preparation and consumption of vegetables if a food‐safety policy such as the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) is mandated in the vegetable sector. Experimental results indicate the presence of dominant offsetting behavior in response to mandatory introduction of PR/HACCP in the vegetable sector. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.