Effects of Food-Safety Perceptions on Food Demand and Global Trade Changing Structure of Global Food Consumption and Trade

Author: Jean C. Buzby

Source: Economic Research Service, USDA

Methodology: Literature review

Summary: Food safety has emerged as an important global issue with international trade and public health implications. How countries perceive and handle food safety risks is complicated and partly based on their access to and use of science, detection technology, and mitigation methods. Highly publicized food safety incidents affect consumer perceptions, leading to changes in food purchasing patterns. Consumer concerns may include foodborne bacteria, hormones, and irradiated foods for example. The level of consumer food safety concerns, and perhaps consumers’ relative ranking of the different concerns and priorities, vary among countries and stem largely from countrywide differences in consumer perceptions about food safety.

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