Toward Safer Food

Sandra Hoffman is a fellow at Resources for the Future. Prior to joining RFF, Hoffmann was on faculty at the LaFollotte Institute of Public Policy at the University of Wisconsin.Michael R. Taylor is a senior fellow at Resources for the Future and chairs the steering committee of the Food Safety Research Consortium. He served in government as Administrator of the U.S.D.A. Food Safety and Inspection Service and as Deputy Commissioner for Policy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

• Preface Contributors PART I Framing the Design Problem 1. Getting to Risk-Based Food Safety Regulatory Management: Lessons from Federal Environmental Policy Sandra A. Hoffmann 2. The Centennial of U.S. Food Safety Law: A Legal and Administrative History Richard A. Merrill PART II Risks and Resources to Reduce Them 3. Linking Illnesses to Foods: A Conceptual Framework Robert V. Tauxe 4. Where Are Potential Chemical Hazards in the U.S. Food Supply? Penelope A. Fenner-Crisp 5. The Current State of Play: Federal and State Expenditures on Food Safety Lawrence J. Dyckman 6. Industry Costs to Make Food Safe: Now and under a Risk-Based System Laurian J. Unnevehr and Helen H. Jensen 7. The Value to Consumers of Reducing Foodborne Risks Elise Golan, Jean Buzby, Stephen Crutchfield, Paul D. Frenzen, Fred Kuchler, Katherine Ralston, and Tanya Roberts PART III Tools for Risk-Based Assessment of Food Safety Policy Priorities 8. New Developments in Chemical and Microbial Risk Assessment Robert Buchanan and Bart Suhre 9. Best Things First: Rethinking Priority Setting for Food Safety Policy Peter Nelson and Alan J. Krupnick 10. Judgment-Based Risk Ranking for Food Safety Michael L. DeKay, Paul S. Fischbeck, H. Keith Florig, M. Granger Morgan, Kara M. Morgan, Baruch Fischhoff, and Karen E. Jenni 11. Quality-Adjusted Life Years: Application to Food Safety Priority Setting Milton C.Weinstein 12. Willingness-to-Pay Measures of Food Safety Regulatory Benefits James K. Hammitt PART IV Identifying Lessons 13. Opportunities for Risk Reduction: A Public Health Perspective J. Glenn Morris, Jr. 14. Opportunities for Risk Reduction: An Economist‘s Perspective Julie A. Caswell 15. Toward an Integrated, Risk-Based Food Safety System: Constructing the Analytical Tools Michael R. Taylor Appendix: Responsibilities of Federal Agencies Involved with Food Safety Index

'This masterful summary of food safety science and policy is valuable for scholars, students, and concerned citizens. Since 1906, the focus of policy has shifted from addressing gross adulteration to invisible chemical and microbiological hazards that affect both public health and public confidence in the food supply. The authors give a concise survey of what is known about these risks and explain how to use risk analysis to set priorities and use resources more cost-effectively.' Lester Lave, Carnegie Mellon Tepper School, Carnegie Mellon University