Meat Slaughter and Processing Plants’ Traceability Levels Evidence From Iowa

In the United States (U.S.), there is no uniform traceability regulation across food sector. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented one-step back and one-step forward traceability over the industries under its jurisdiction. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees meat, poultry and egg production, requires some record keeping as part of food safety regulation. Particularly, a two-part-system has developed; live animal traceability and meat traceability with slaughter and processing plants in between. This paper studies the question of whether (and if so how) meat plants’ traceability levels vary with respect to the following factors; product specific (credence versus experience and search attributes, branded versus commodity meat, being exporter), organizational (spot market versus contracting), food safety related, and plant specific (a quality assurance system in place, number of sources, size, capital-labor ratio, etc.).