Retail driven food safety regulation

Abstract

This chapter discusses the increased role of corporate retailers in global food safety regulation and its consequences for food producers. Retail-driven private food safety regulation started in the early 1990s and has become increasingly important in global food regulation. Major European retailers took the lead in the establishment of private food safety standards with third party certification. These retailers require their suppliers throughout the world to participate in this system of private food governance. The first of these standards were developed by national retailers associations. The British Retail Consortium was a front runner here. Later the food standards crossed borders and were adopted by retailers and producers in other countries. The chapter introduces the dominant transnational retail-driven standards with particular attention to the dissemination outside Europe and the power of retailers in the governance structure of the standards. Today the distribution of the standards still reflects the geographic pattern of their origin. In its early days large corporate European retailers were in complete control but after a short or longer period of time other stakeholders were included in the governance structure of the schemes. However, the major standards are still retail-driven in two ways: Retailers own the standard and retailers promote the adoption of the standards by requiring compliance from their suppliers all over the world. Retailers are engaged in food safety regulation for several reasons, including assuring high product quality, building confidence and protection against liability claims. Although compliance with these retail-standards is not legally mandatory, for many food producers non-compliance is not really an option because it is required by the market (i.e. the supermarkets). The globalization of food supply chains, the increased economic power of corporate retailers and the shifting balance between public and private food governance enabled large international supermarket chains to become powerful food regulators.