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Audit Grades in Food Safety Certification

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  • Zheng, Yuqing
  • Bar, Talia

Abstract

Retailers increasingly require suppliers to certify for food safety standards. Third party certification bodies audit manufacturing sites to determine compliance with a standard. We use panel data on U.S. manufacturing sites certified for the British Retail Consortium global standard food safety program to identify determinants of certification audit grades. We find that firms with more resources obtain higher grades. Also grades increase with experience which likely indicates that the certification process improves food safety practices. Investigating the relationship between audit grades and the degree of competition between third party certification bodies in the vicinity of a manufacturing site, we find that higher competition is associated with higher audit grades.

Suggested Citation

  • Zheng, Yuqing & Bar, Talia, 2017. "Audit Grades in Food Safety Certification," 2017 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2017, Mobile, Alabama 252714, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:saea17:252714
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.252714
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    Agribusiness; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Industrial Organization;
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