This report examines the impact of process regulations mandated under the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) rule by the Food Safety and Inspection Service of USDA on food safety process control. The current level of food safety found in U.S. meat and...

The compliance costs of the Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis Critical Control Program (PR/HACCP) rule have been controversial. Previous reports have used limited data to evaluate its overall and component costs. This paper addresses those deficiencies by examining compliance costs with data...

This paper investigates the motives for mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. meat products industry from1977-92. Results show that acquired meat and poultry plants were highly productive before mergers, and that meat plants significantly improved productivity growth in the post-merger periods,...

This paper uses a unique data set provided by the Census Bureau to empirically examine technological change and economies of scale in the chicken and turkey slaughter industries. Results reveal substantial scale economies that show no evidence of diminishing with plant size and that are much...

Economists (Ollinger and Mueller, 2003; Golan et al., 2004) have considered some of the economic forces, such as demands from major customers, that encourage plants to maintain food safety process control. Other economists, such as Roberts (2005), have identified food safety technologies that enable...

The cost of compliance with the Pathogen Reduction Hazard Analysis Critical Control Program (PR/HACCP) rule of 1996 has been controversial from the time it was first proposed. Recent survey evidence indicates costs of about $0.01 per pound. These estimates may capture actual costs but do not...

Consolidation and structural changes in the food industry have had profound impacts on firms, employees, and communities in many parts of the United States. Over 1972-92, eight important food industries underwent a structural transformation in which the number of plants declined by about...

Results from the first national survey of the types and amounts of food safety investments made by meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants since the late 1990s provide evidence that market forces have worked in conjunction with regulation to promote the use of more sophisticated food...

Foodborne pathogens cause millions of human illnesses annually, many resulting in death or chronic illnesses. Universal methods to evaluate microbial risks and their associated costs have yet to be developed. Typically, risk analysis and economic analysis have been carried out independently. In...