The British Food Safety Act 1990 may significantly affect the structure of agribusiness. The most important aspect of the new act is the introduction of the “due diligence” defence clause. Food companies must prove that they exhibited due diligence in ensuring that food in their possession...

Bilateral monopoly situations where few sellers confront few buyers are an important legacy of the command system in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Both suppliers and buyers typically attempt to manipulate prices by distorting the market. The resulting quantity...

The role of food traceability systems in resolving information asymmetry is explored. Three functions of traceability systems are identified: ex post reactive systems that allow the traceback of affected products in the event of a contamination problem so as to minimize social costs, ex post...

This article investigates the hypothesis that different supply channels impose different types (and levels of) transaction costs on beef processors in the United Kingdom. The choice of supply channel is therefore influenced by these transaction costs. Recent food safety legislation and...