AN INTEGRATED ECONOMIC STUDY OF U.S. FOOD SAFETY ISSUES FROM IMPORTED FOOD PRODUCTS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0225792
• Grant No.: 2011-67011-30649
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $75,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2010-05217
• Project Start Date: Aug 15, 2011
• Project End Date: Aug 14, 2013
• Grant Year: 2011
• Program Code: [A7101]- AFRI Predoctoral Fellowships

Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907

Performing Department
Agricultural Economics

Non Technical Summary
The globalization of the food industry has made food safety increasingly important to consumers, producers, and policymakers. In recent years, China has emerged as an important supplier of food to the U.S. Highly publicized incidents of food contamination and adulteration in both the Chinese domestic and export markets have focused concern on the safety of food from China. The goal of this project is to improve the safety of food products supplied to the U.S. from China by examining both U.S. demand as well as Chinese supply of food safety and quality attributes using a modern econometric approach based on choice experiments. Results from this study will help reduce food safety risks by bridging market asymmetries, suggest optimal food safety policy, and ultimately ensure a safe food supply for all American consumers. The goal of this project is also achieved through an integrated educational component aimed at improving the current curriculum by including food safety education in a globalization context, and training the doctoral student as a scholar and educator in food safety with international expertise. This project benefits greatly from a multidisciplinary and international team of mentors and collaborators which will advise the doctoral student throughout the execution of his research plan aimed at improving food safety for all Americans. Furthermore, the proposed integrated educational activities will assist in the development of the doctoral student as an educator and professional researcher which will strengthen the intellectual capacity needed to meet the challenges facing our nation's agriculture and food systems.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
606	3799	3010	25%
607	3799	3010	25%
610	3799	3010	25%
611	3799	3010	25%

Knowledge Area
611 - Foreign Policy and Programs; 607 - Consumer Economics; 610 - Domestic Policy Analysis; 606 - International Trade and Development;

Subject Of Investigation
3799 - Cultured aquatic animals, general/other;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics;

Keywords

food safety

u.s. consumer welfare

china

food policy

aquaculture

choice experiments

research and education

Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to improve the safety of food products supplied to U.S. markets from international sources like China. This goal will be addressed by investigating key safety and quality attributes recognized by U.S. consumers and accepted by Chinese producers. This information will help reduce food safety risks by bridging market asymmetries, suggest optimal food safety policy, and ultimately ensure a safe food supply for all American consumers. This goal is also achieved by improving the current curriculum by including food safety education in a globalization context, and training the doctoral student as a scholar as well as an educator in food safety with international expertise. Specific supporting objectives of this study are to: (1) estimate U.S. consumers' willingness-to-pay for important food safety and quality informational attributes embedded in imported aquaculture products from China; (2) estimate Chinese producer's willingness-to-adopt corresponding safety and quality attributes that are being demanded by U.S. consumers; (3) identify potential market failures that exist when American consumers' willingness-to-pay for a safety or quality attribute does not exceed Chinese producers' willingness-to-adopt a particular attribute and inform policy to remedy these situations; and (4) to enhance the current curriculum with food safety education in a globalization context and train the doctoral student with teaching, advising, and mentoring skills.

Project Methods
A nationwide, survey-based, choice experiment will be used to estimate U.S. consumers' willingness-to-pay for select safety and quality attributes from imported aquaculture products. This information will be crucial in identifying key food product characteristics which American consumers seek in order to make informed food purchasing decisions. This study will provide policy makers with information that will allow them to develop more efficient food policy by addressing the direct needs of U.S. consumers. Furthermore, the doctoral student will design and coordinate a Chinese producer study which will evaluate Chinese producers' willingness-to-adopt food safety and quality attributes that American consumers demand. This portion of the research project will not only gage Chinese producers' willingness-to-comply with American consumers' demand for food safety, but also improve responsibility and identify areas of vulnerability that should be targeted and addressed before problems emerge. By construct, the results and findings that will be obtained from both the American consumer and the Chinese producer study will be used to identify market failures and sources of asymmetric information that currently exist in the U.S. market for Chinese food products and will help support the overseas effort of the U.S. government in China. The educational objectives will be achieved through an integrated educational component aimed at improving the current curriculum by including food safety education in a globalization context, and training the doctoral student as a scholar and educator in food safety with international expertise. This type of training will take place in teaching seminars, workshops, academic conferences as well as by performing applied economics research in China.

Progress 08/15/11 to 08/14/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: From: Ortega, David [mailto:[e-mail]] Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 1:57 PM To: Burden, Christy Marie Subject: Re: Submission of USDA/NIFA Final Accomplishment report Importance: High Hi Christy, I submitted a Final Report for this grant through Michigan State University (MSU). This project/grant was transferred over from Purdue to MSU last year. As requested, I am attaching a copy of the final report which was submitted through MSU. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks, David. David L. Ortega Assistant Professor Michigan State University Dept. of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics Agriculture Hall, 446 W. Circle Dr., Room 306 East Lansing, Michigan 48824 [e-mail] Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] http://davidortegaphd.com From: , Christy Marie Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 1:19 PM To: "[e-mail]" Subject: Submission of USDA/NIFA Final Accomplishment report Dr. Ortega: In auditing our files, we found that a Final Accomplishment Report for the following project was never submitted to USDA-NIFA via REEport, NIFA’s Online Reporting Portal. I got your contact info from Dr. Ken Foster here at Purdue to try to contact you to get this report submitted: Accession No.: 225792 Project No.: IND010554G Grants.gov No.: GRANT10704371 Proposal No: 2010-05217 Project Title: An Integrated Economic Study o... Project Director: Ortega, David Project Start Date: 8/15/2011 Project End Date: 8/14/2013 Reporting Period End Date: 8/14/2013 Report Due Date:11/12/2013 What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? David Ortega is no longer at Purdue Univeristy. Please refer to the Changes/Problems section on the cover page for more information.

Publications

Progress 08/15/11 to 08/14/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: An in-depth marketing study of Chinese food safety issues was performed where various food safety events were analyzed from a marketing utility perspective. Structural causes and implications for the US food supply (via imports) were analyzed. An economic study on demand for attributes of imported products was performed using a survey representative of American consumers. Consumer perceptions and demand for safety and quality attributes of imported aquaculture products was assessed. A choice experiment was conducted to estimate consumers' willingness-to-pay for select product attributes on imported shrimp and tilapia products. Preferences for imported versus domestically produced shrimp were analyzed. Additionally the effects of media exposure to coverage of food safety events on consumer behavior was measured. A study of Chinese aquaculture producers was conducted using in-country field work. A field survey was developed and administered to assess producers' willingness-to-change their production practices and comply with enhanced safety and quality standards. The survey was targeted at export-oriented producers. Preliminary outputs from this grant have been disseminated to key stakeholders which include U.S.government officials, domestic and international academics. Results have been presented at four academic conferences, six invited presentations (four of them internationally) and via an organized symposium at the International Association of Agricultural Economists. As part of this fellowship the doctoral student received specialized training in teaching and classroom management via teaching seminars and workshops. The doctoral student received additional classroom experience by developing a semester-long introductory course to agricultural economics. He further developed his teaching skills by delivering this course internationally. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Food safetly experts and trade economists. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Policy implications of preliminary results have been delivered at academic conferences, domestic and international universities and to government representatives. It is estimated that preliminary results and recommendations have reached an audience of over 1,000 individuals via these presentations. Furthermore, results from this project is generating insight into consumer and producer behavior with regards to the safety of American food supply. It is expected that these findings will enhance the understanding of economic forces behind food product safety and will allow the development of optimal food policy. As such results are currently undergoing peer review and are expected to be published. As a result of the integrated teaching and research activities performed under this project, the doctoral student has obtained a tenure-track faculty position at Michigan State University in Global Agri-food Systems.

Publications

• Short McKendree, Melissa, Nicole J. Olynk and David L. Ortega. 2011. Consumer Preferences and Perceptions of Food Safety, Production Practices, and Food Product Labeling: A Spotlight on Dairy Product Purchasing Behavior in 2011. Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business Research Paper 2011-01.