Private initiatives on food safety: the case of the Colombian poultry industry

This study describes the Colombian poultry industryʹs effort to improve safety standards of poultry products. It examines the institutional setting for food safety as well as the response of the industry to the challenge of producing a safer product able to compete in both quality and prices with imported chicken and with other locally produced meats. This private initiative shows that producerʹs organizations in developing countries can implement quality assurance programs as a strategy to compete. These industryʹs efforts have contributed to maintaining share in domestic markets, to improve producerʹs ability to compete in a global economy, as well as to comply with government regulations.