Essays on Government Policy and Food Safety

Hyejin Yim, Purdue University

Abstract

Food safety is of high importance to prevent foodborne illnesses that can negatively affect public health and the economy. Preventative measures can be taken by government agencies, food-related workers, and consumers to reduce the occurrence of such illnesses. This paper examines the impact of government policies on food safety from the perspective of consumers, restaurant employees and employers, and food processing workers. Each essay provides novel insight into how food safety practices interact with policies.The first essay explores how food safety recalls affect consumer behavior. Using household-level scanner data, the study investigates if consumers adjust their meat purchases following a government meat recall notification. Results show that although there is a statistically significant decrease in consumer meat purchases after a meat recall, it is short-lived and has a small economic impact. The study also finds that consumer recall response varies depending on household demographic and recall characteristics. These findings reveal the effectiveness of government food safety policies in raising consumer awareness and consumer responses to food safety recalls.The second essay studies the impact of minimum wage policies on service quality in the restaurant industry. A wage increase can simultaneously affect employee productivity through increased earnings and employer management practices through increased labor costs. The study measures whether a wage increase affects the customer service quality and food safety provided by low-wage employees and if there are any spillover effects of a wage increase on service quality offered by employers. The study uses restaurant-level food safety inspections and jurisdictionlevel minimum wage changes in the US between 2010 and 2019. Results show that a wage increase improves service quality and reduces overall restaurant violations, mainly driven by a decrease in employee-associated violations. However, the study also finds an increase in severe employerassociated violations that can have adverse effects on consumer health outcomes. These findings reveal the mixed effects of unintended government policies on restaurant food safety.The third essay investigates the effect of minimum wage policies on product food safety in the meat and poultry processing industry. The study uses high-frequency plant-level meat, poultry, and egg product inspection (MPI) data and local minimum wage announcements (i.e., ordinances) and implementations between 2012 and 2019. Results show that a wage increase improves food safety practices at meat and poultry processing plants, as measured by improved MPI compliance rates. The study shows that improved compliance rates are likely due to enhanced worker performance through increased wages. The study suggests that an increase in the minimum wage improves worker earnings and performance, which leads to improved MPI compliance rates. The study also finds that improved compliance rates occur mostly within the five months following the minimum wage increase implementation, indicating that workers display present-looking behavior rather than forward-looking behavior in terms of worker performance. These findings highlight how wage increase policies can improve food safety practices in the food processing industry.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Katare, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Food Science

COinS