Recall characteristics and food safety process control

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) initiated 1,073 recalls of meat and poultry products that could cause severe illness or death over 2000–2019. These recalls led to substantial drops in demand that vary by the characteristics of the recall (Zhou and Liu, 2023) and incentivized firms to invest in food safety (Ollinger and Houser, 2020, Ollinger and Bovay, 2020). Following Zhou and Liu (2023) and Ollinger and Houser, 2020, Ollinger and Bovay, 2020, this paper examines differences in food safety process control for establishments with different recall characteristics and contrasts that performance with establishments without recalls. Results show that (1) Salmonella share relative to an establishment’s own mean Salmonella share outperforms Salmonella share alone in estimating the likelihood of a recall, (2) 27 percent rather than 12 percent of establishments would have failed to meet the Salmonella standard if a proposed but not yet mandated more stringent standard had been in effect, and (3) most establishments return to normal operating conditions after a recall, but establishments with multiple recalls struggle to regain control of food safety, suggesting they may benefit from an audit of their food safety systems by FSIS or an auditor.