ABSTRACT
The regulation of food safety has become more relevant than ever. In just 2018 alone, the world witnessed widespread adulteration of foods: strawberries in Australia were contaminated by small needles leading to a nation-wide trade recall of berries [1], a norovirus outbreak in the Winter Olympics in Korea impacted close to 200 people [2], and a listeria outbreak in South Africa led to over 180 deaths and around 1000 reported incidents [3]. It is such incidents that call for strong legislation and policies with respect to food safety to ensure consumer protection and public health. Indeed, the regulatory framework of food safety plays a crucial role in sheltering the public from economic fraud and preventing the sale of unsafe foods [4]. It is also widely found that inadequate laws relating to food safety result in foodborne illness outbreaks and affect the sale of foods, leading to serious economic consequences. McKeown et al. [5] studied the effects of food safety laws, consumer confidence, and foodborne illness outbreaks on the respective effects on food sales and found that consumer confidence in food safety resulted in losses in sales for many businesses. The increasing role of the media reporting such incidents further exacerbates public distrust. This chapter will accordingly first provide the reader with the principles underpinning legislation and policies concerning food safety.
