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Incidents involving unsafe food pose a risk to not only the unfortunate consumer’s health, but also to public confidence in regulators ability to police the supply chain, individual food business balance sheets, and even whole sectors of the food economy.
The formulation of policies aimed at avoiding the types of outbreaks and contamination incidents that can leave consumers in hospital (or worse) and businesses in liquidation must therefore take into account the views and interests of a wide array of stakeholders. Achieving some sort of balance or magic formula that will satisfy consumer associations, environmental groups, industry groups, risk managers, public and private research organizations, and the media can be challenging if not impossible.
However, an understanding of the ever shifting landscape upon which this balancing exercise is performed, and the role played by the larger stakeholder groups in influencing policy formulation, serves as a useful starting point for anyone seeking to understand the complex web of relationships and interests that must be taken into account by policy makers and regulators tasked with protecting consumers while also fostering innovation and investment in a dynamic and highly competitive European food sector.
A short article describing the evolving role of stakeholders in EU food governance and the roles played by consumers, food business, and food regulators is contained in the News & Insights section of the McDowell Purcell website at the following link.
Authors: James Gallagher and JP McDowell