Effect of food safety recalls on consumer meat purchase: evidence from meat recalls 2007–2017

Abstract Food safety is a global public health concern, and food recalls cause several foodborne illnesses and significant costs to human health. We estimate the impact of meat recalls on consumer meat purchase in the USA using household-level scanner data. Meat recalls have a statistically significant but short-lived and small reduction in consumer meat purchase, suggesting an economically small impact on the intensive (how much to decrease) and extensive (whether to purchase) margins. There is heterogeneity in consumer recall response across household demographic and recall characteristics. The results provide an insight into domestic and international policymakers and industry stakeholders about food safety.