ABSTRACT
Different public and private approaches to regulating and assuring food safety in three countries are compared: the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Although there are a number of similarities in the development of food safety initiatives in the three countries, there are also some important differences in key drivers for change and their impact. Key differences include the incidence of food safety scares, differences in incentive structures, and the proliferation of standards. Lessons from economic, management, and marketing literature shed light on the incentives for change from both a public policy and private industry strategy perspective. Vertical industry alliances are becoming an important means of assuring food safety and quality. Evidence from a recent survey of
beef producers in Canada and the U.K. assesses producers’ attitudes towards quality assurance schemes and their willingness to work interdependently within the supply chain to provide credible farm-to-retail food safety assurances.
