The market for private food safety certifications: Conceptual framework, review, and future research directions

Since the inception of private food safety standards in the late 1990s, producers, processors, retailers, and governments have been increasingly relying on them to provide assurances to food safety. This article first develops a conceptual framework for the market of private food safety standards through the lens of agri-food supply chain logistics, outlining how the key players in the market interact and classifying these interactions into 15 categories. Second, we classify and review studies based on the interactions identified. Our review supports the identification of research gaps in this relatively new, though already important, area of research in contemporary agribusiness.