Food safety and development of the beef industry in China

A critique of high-value supply chains as a means of modernising agriculture in China: The case of the beef industry

“…Low-value agrifood chains that dominate Chinese agriculture generate low margins and returns to chain participants and all too often produce unsafe food (Brown et al, 2002b;Waldron, 2009, Chapter 7). However, the analysis presented in this paper suggests that addressing these problems by fast-tracking the development of modern, high-value and large-scale structures is a high risk strategy that can generate perverse impacts.…”

“…Another 500,000 people work as cattle and beef traders and as slaughter workers, the majority of which belong to the ethnic Hui minority (Waldron, 2009, Chapter 1). Significant food safety and disease issues also arise especially in the household slaughter and beef marketing sectors, which policy-makers attempt to address by centralising and modernising structures (Brown et al, 2002b).…”

China's agriculture, smallholders and trade: driven by the livestock revolution?*

“…Is this likely to be the case on China? Some evidence suggests that large commercial hog farms are emerging to service urban consumers (Fabiosa et al 2005) and that an increasing volume of beef (from a very small base) is being sold through modern supply chains (Brown et al 2002), but that small producers are increasing their participation in milk production (Wu et al 2007). Based on surveys of livestock producers in Beijing and Hebei province, Bi (2007) concludes that there has been little penetration of modern supply chains by these producers, with the one exception of poultry production.…”

International trade and food safety in developing countries

“…Indeed, the food safety concept may be differently interpreted in different societies as food preparation and food consumption habits differ (for example, elaborate food safety checks for meat in a region where traditionally meat is boiled into a stew does make little sense). Brown, Longworth, and Waldron (2002) note the limitations on introducing stricter food safety regulation in the Chinese beef market where small scale village level processing is guided by social norms to ensure locally acceptable standards. The perception of risk is influenced by health priorities (Shin, Kliebenstein, Hayes, & Shogren, 1992), by food habits and publicity, and there is evidence of overrating highly publicized ''food scares'' by the press and subsequently general public.…”

“…In most of the developing world basic food safety rules accommodate these risks, through buying, cooking, preserving and social pressure on food processors and marketers (see Brown et al, 2002 for example). However, with increasing concentration and globalization of food supply the transparency of short market chains may be lost, and consumers are increasingly dependent on specialized services to guarantee safe food.…”