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The economically optimal sample size in a food safety test balances the marginal costs and marginal benefits of increasing the sample size. We provide a method for selecting the sample size when testing beef trim for Escherichia coli O157:H7 that equates the averted costs of recalls and health damages from contaminated meats sold to consumers with the increased costs of testing while allowing for uncertainty about the underlying prevalence rates of contamination. Using simulations, we show that, in most cases, the optimal sample size is larger than the current sample size of 60 and, in some cases, it exceeds 120. Moreover, lots with a lower prevalence rate have a higher expected damage because contamination is more difficult to detect. Our simulations indicate that these lots have a higher optimal sampling rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable scientific evidence about the health risks of drinking unpasteurized (raw) milk, advocates continue to lobby for the reduction of state regulatory restrictions on the sale of unpasteurized milk. Multivariate analyses were performed on 1998-1999, 2002-2003 and 2006-2007 FoodNet Population Survey data to determine char-acteristics of unpasteurized milk consumers. Across all years of the survey, 3.4% of respondents reported consuming unpasteurized milk at some point in the previous seven days. Our findings indicate that unpasteurized milk drinkers in the states covered by the analysis are more likely to be Hispanic, less educated and of lower income than non-drinkers and they are more likely to report drinking unpasteurized juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food loss at the retail and consumer levels in the United States includes 14.8 billion pounds of fruit and 23.4 billion pounds of vegetables, valued at $15.1 billion and $27.7 billion, respectively, in 2008 retail market prices. The total value of these losses is $42.8 billion per year, or roughly $141 per capita. To most efficiently reduce the annual food loss, it may be beneficial to focus efforts on the four fruits (fresh apples, grapes, peaches and strawberries) and four vegetables (fresh and canned tomatoes and fresh and frozen potatoes) that have the greatest amount of loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study concerning the examination of data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on import refusal data violations. It says that the 45,937 adulteration violations reported in 1998-2007 fall in three broad hazard categories such as pathogens, chemical, and their toxins. Moreover, it notes that import refusal data of FDA indicates the recurring failures in the management of global food safety.

This article highlights the scientific evidence to date on a variety of nanotechnology issues important to consumers with a focus on food applications. Nanotechnology is technology at the atomic or macromolecular levels on the scale of approximately 1–100 nm. There are unlimited potential applications of nanotechnology for food, dietary supplements and food contact materials. However, there are more questions than answers about the safety risks of nanotechnology, its environmental, health and other impacts, and its costs and benefits. Benefits and costs will likely be specific to the nanomaterials used, the application and other conditions (e.g., temperature). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of food poisoning jury verdicts in 32 states (1988-1997) revealed that plaintiffs won awards in food poisoning jury trials 31% of the time, and received a median award of $25,560. Multivariate analyses were performed to examine the effects of various factors on food poisoning jury verdicts and on the size of the award. The odds of a plaintiff victory increased if a foodborne pathogen or illness was specified, and decreased if defendants had "deep pockets" or used medical expert testimony. Illnesses involving hospitalization, death, or chronic complications received higher awards than other illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a split-sample contingent valuation study of willingness to pay (WTP) for food safety improvements, the dichotomous choice (DC) elicitation method consistently generated much larger estimates of WTP than did a continuous method. Little or none of these differences was clue to bias introduced by the statistical techniques used with the DC data. Most or all of the difference was due to differences in respondent behavior. In addition, the continuous WTP responses showed a significant scope effect, while the DC responses did not. The observed difference in behavior may be attributable in part to yea-saying by DC respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the opportunity cost paradigm to examine industry costs of complying with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) for food safety regulations. HACCP benefits; Sensitivity analysis of HACCP benefit estimates; HACCP costs; Economic incentives from HACCP.

Estimates the impacts of banning a postharvest pesticide from being used in the fresh grapefruit industry using marketing margin theory and Gardner's six equation model. Impact on farm and retail price and use of agricultural inputs for fresh grapefruit; Significance of postharvest technology.

The present study is the first to examine the relative importance of macroeconomic and yearling-specific variables on the price of thoroughbred yearlings. Regression results indicated that it is the yearling-specific variables that are more influential in explaining yearling price, yet both types of variables are important. The main explanatory variables are the stud fee of the yearling's sire, and the annual gross total dollar purchases of thoroughbred yearlings by foreign investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the author of the article "The Economic Efficiency of Sampling Size: The Case of Beef Trim," in the March 12, 2013 issue is presented.

Data on the U.S. food supply--that is, amounts of food available for consumption--have been maintained by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) since 1909. These data are used to measure time trends in per-capita food availability, estimate nutrient content of the food supply, and compare American diets to recommendations. USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) annually updates food supply data; the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion uses the data to estimate nutrient availability. Additionally, ERS calculates per capita food servings, as defined by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and USDA's MyPyramid. These food serving data most closely approximate actual intake because they adjust for plate waste and other food losses. However, many of the conversion factors used to account for amounts of food wasted or lost at the farm, retail, institutional, or consumer level are in need of updating and validating. Plans for improvement are underway to refine and restructure the data to more closely estimate actual per capita consumption. Cooperative agreements and grants are in place to refine the conversion factors estimates. These data series are available on the ERS website, which is being restructured to increase usability, via switching to more flexible software and expanding the capability of the custom query options to make a wider array graphs and tables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by acute neuromuscular paralysis. Of an estimated annual number of 2628–9575 US cases, 526–3830 are triggered by Campylobacter infection. Research objectives were to identify the lifetime consequences of GBS and, when possible, to quantify their economic burden. The cost-of-illness method was used to calculate annual societal resources spent on medical care and lost productivity due to illness or premature death from Campylobacter-associated GBS. Estimated total costs (in US$) of Campylobacter-associated GBS ($0.2–$1.8 billion) were added to previously estimated costs of campylobacteriosis ($1.3– $6.2 billion) for a total annual cost from Campylobacter of $1.5–$8.0 billion (1995 dollars). It is concluded that up to $8.0 billion in US human illness costs are spent annually because of Campylobacter infection. Economic evaluation of the other costs associated with GBS, such as physical and psychological costs, would increase these estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]