An Economic Assessment of Food Safety Regulations

An Economic Assessment of HACCP

Regulations

Most government regulations will have some sort of

economic effect on producers and consumers.  Regula-

tions governing how meat and poultry products are

produced can raise costs of production.  Regulations

require resource commitments, which, in turn, may raise

costs and product prices.  On the other hand, the regula-

tions, which improve the safety of the food supply, will

generate benefits for consumers by reducing the number

and severity of foodborne illnesses.  Economic analysis

can play an important role in the public decisionmaking

process by identifying the benefits and costs of food-

safety policies.  Currently, all regulations that have a

significant impact on society (

i.e., over $100 million) are

required by Executive Order 12286 to be supported by a

cost-benefit analysis.  In this section, we assess both the

benefits and the costs of HACCP.

1