Improving standards and certification in agri-food supply chains (eBook)

There is increasing scrutiny of the safety, environmental and social impact of food production. However, the complexity of modern agri-food supply chains has significantly complicated the process of setting and enforcing appropriate standards. The thematic scope of standards has also expanded from its original focus on safety and quality to cover social responsibility and ethical trading, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, biodiversity loss and nature-related risks.

Finally, the range of stakeholders involved in setting and monitoring standards governing agri-food supply chains has proliferated, from official national, regional and international bodies to non-government organisations (NGOs), the food industry itself and now the investment sector concerned to ensure their clients meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.

Improving standards and certification in agri-food supply chains: Ensuring safety, sustainability and social responsibility comprehensively addresses the challenges raised by this complex picture and features contributions from leading international experts from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the Rainforest Alliance. The book discusses how to reconcile the roles of different stakeholders in standard setting, how changes in governance and technology can improve accountability, as well as the different ways of enhancing good agricultural practices (GAP) to meet new ways of producing food.

The book also discusses the challenges and solutions in achieving effective standards promoting more socially responsible production and how best to address emerging practices to improve environmental sustainability such as regenerative agriculture.

Edited by a world-renowned expert in sustainable agri-food systems, the book will be a standard reference for those researching safety, quality, environmental sustainability and social responsibility in agri-food supply chains in universities and other research centres, environmental and social scientists, NGOs, as well as governmental and other food safety agencies responsible for setting standards, developing and monitoring certification schemes to achieve safer, more sustainable and socially-responsible agricultural production.

Dr Louise Manning is Professor of Sustainable Agri-Food Systems at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology at the University of Lincoln, UK. With over 30 years of experience in both industry and research, and over 125 peer-reviewed publications, Professor Manning is internationally-renowned for both her research and consultancy work on food safety and quality, agri-food systems, food integrity and crime. She is an Associate Editor for the British Food Journal and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Rothamsted Research. Professor Manning has previously edited Developing smart agri-food supply chains: Using technology to improve safety and quality, published by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing in 2021.