Food safety: A policy history and introduction to avenues for economic research

Foodborne illness ranks seventh globally among major health hazards, falling between air pollution and tuberculosis. Yet food safety is relatively understudied by economists. This paper provides an introduction to food safety for economists new to the subject. It presents an overview of the problem, the history of major policy reforms, and the structure of food safety governance in the United States and internationally. It identifies potential opportunities for economists in interdisciplinary food safety research and presents one example of this kind of collaboration, namely research focused on identifying the food sources of US Campylobacter infections. I1; Q17; Q18 JEL CLASSIFICATION

Automated summary

Foodborne illness is ranked seventh globally among major health hazards, falling between air pollution and tuberculosis. However, food safety is relatively understudied by economists. This paper provides an introduction to food safety for economists new to the subject, presenting an overview of the problem, the history of major policy reforms, and the structure of food safety governance in the United States and internationally. It also identifies potential opportunities for economists in interdisciplinary food safety research and presents one example of this kind of collaboration, focusing on identifying the food sources of US Campylobacter infections.