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Food safety regulation and small processing: A case study of interactions between processors and inspectors

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  • Buckley, Jenifer A.

Abstract

As interest in small-scale food processing increases, so does interest in assuring that food safety regulations accommodate rather than hinder small processors. Some practitioners and advocates charge that regulations are unfairly slanted against smaller producers and favor large food manufacturers. Studies of regulatory implementation have suggested that inspection practices offer possible policy accommodations to small food businesses. Yet there has been little research on food safety inspections of small processors. This article describes a study of food safety inspections of small processors in the US state of Michigan. Interactions between inspectors and processors were explored using a qualitative ethnographic approach. Results indicate that these interactions have the potential to achieve accommodative regulatory outcomes. Inspectors took a collaborative, assistive approach which appeared to benefit processor operations as well as improve compliance. These results have implications for policymaking for small processors, and they lay the groundwork for further research on food safety regulatory implementation.

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  • Buckley, Jenifer A., 2015. "Food safety regulation and small processing: A case study of interactions between processors and inspectors," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 74-82.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:51:y:2015:i:c:p:74-82
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.12.009
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    4. Kumar, A. & Saroj, S. & Thapa, G. & Joshi, P.K. & Roy, D., 2018. "Compliance with safety practices among dairy farmers in Bihar, India: Do smallholders benefit?," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277176, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Anjani Kumar & Ashok K. Mishra & Sunil Saroj & Vinay K. Sonkar & Ganesh Thapa & Pramod K. Joshi, 2020. "Food safety measures and food security of smallholder dairy farmers: Empirical evidence from Bihar, India," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 363-384, June.
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    9. Jason Barnes & Harriet Whiley & Kirstin Ross & James Smith, 2022. "Defining Food Safety Inspection," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Dongol, P. & Thapa, G. & Kumar A., 2017. "Adoption of Milk Safety Measures and its Impact on Milk Acceptance by Buyers in Nepal," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 30(01), June.
    11. Kotisalo, Niina & Luukkanen, Jenni & Fredriksson-Ahomaa, Maria & Lundén, Janne, 2015. "Effects of centralizing meat inspection and food safety inspections in Finnish small-scale slaughterhouses," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 15-21.
    12. Helle Ørsted Nielsen & Vibeke Lehmann Nielsen, 2023. "Different encounter behaviors: Businesses in encounters with regulatory agencies," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 61-82, January.
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    14. Kumar, Anjani & Thapa, Ganesh & Joshi, Pramod Kumar & Roy, Devesh, 2016. "Adoption of food safety measures among Nepalese milk producers: Do smallholders benefit?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1556, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

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