ABSTRACT
Shifts in consumption practices in industrialized countries are closely linked to the rise of quality standards and their importance in the shape of what we refer to as the global food web. Increased consumer awareness of food safety, environment, social justice, and the rise of product differentiation within a saturated market for homogeneous commodity foods have all contributed to numerous and increasingly specific quality standards (Ponte & Gibbon, 2005, p. 2). Key to implementing or meeting the standards is the control and communication of information about the product, production, and process and their quality-related attributes. Vertical integration is one solution to this information problem. However, labels, branding, certification, and codification also allow quality information to get from the producers through processors, distributors and retailers to the consumers (p. 3).
