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EU trade regulation for baby food: protecting health or trade?

Author

Listed:
  • Federica Demaria

    (Dipartimento di Economia e Statistica - UniCal - Università della Calabria [Arcavacata di Rende, Italia] = University of Calabria [Italy] = Université de Calabre [Italie])

  • Sophie Drogue

    (UMR MOISA - Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - Montpellier SupAgro - Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier)

Abstract

This article explores the effect of European Union (EU) food safety regulations on EU imports of baby food. Pesticides and contaminants contribute to various health problems. Children are more vulnerable to the dangers of pesticides and contaminants because as soon as they start eating solids, they consume a limited number of food items, most of which are fruits and vegetables. To protect the health of the most vulnerable part of the population, the EU regulations stipulate that no more than 0.01 mg/kg of any single pesticide residue is permitted in baby food. In this respect, the EU differs from most of its trading partners, the majority of which do not differentiate food safety regulations according to the age of the consumer. The purpose of this paper is to compare the EU regulations on maximum residue limits of pesticides to those of its major competitors through a severity index. This index is then introduced into a gravity equation to assess the impact on EU imports of baby food. We find that the EU regulation had a negative impact on the volume of trade but a positive one on the probability of setting up new trade relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Federica Demaria & Sophie Drogue, 2017. "EU trade regulation for baby food: protecting health or trade?," Post-Print hal-01405419, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01405419
    DOI: 10.1111/twec.12434
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Cipollina & Federica Demaria, 2020. "The Trade Effect of the EU’s Preference Margins and Non-Tariff Barriers," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, September.
    2. DeMaria Federica & Drogue Sophie & Lubello Pasquale, 2021. "The impact of pest risk management measures on trade: the case of apples from France and Chile," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Annalisa Zezza & Federica Demaria & Maria Rosaria Pupo d'Andrea & Jo Swinnen & Giulia Meloni & Senne Vandevelde & Alessandro Olper & Daniele Curzi & Valentina Raimondi & Sophie Drogue, 2018. "Research for AGRI Committee - Agricultural trade: assessing reciprocity of standards," Working Papers hal-02787948, HAL.
    4. Siqi Zhang, 2025. "Maximum Residue Limits and Agricultural Trade: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-30, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations

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