Food Standards

A “standard” is a social construction, one that suggests a particular quality of an item can be measured and then compared to either a fixed scale or to another similar item. Food standards already presume that products can be categorized based on intrinsic qualities: fruits, vegetables, fresh or frozen, raw or processed; the purpose of the standards is to help differentiate items within those categories. At their most basic levels, standards are binary. Binary standards lend themselves to a determination whether or not an item is acceptable. Many food standards are binary in nature: products might be safe, otherwise they are not; products might be organic, in which case they may be labeled as such; a product might be designated as coming from one particular country, implying that it is not from anywhere else. More sophisticated standardization schemes can apply a scale leading to different hierarchical grades. Food standards have generally served two primary purposes: to ensure safety and quality and/or to facilitate trade by providing clarity in commercial market transactions. Both goals should ultimately benefit consumers, although their interests are rarely directly represented when these standards are developed. Food standards rarely exist in a bureaucratic or economic vacuum: they are promoted within existing institutional structures to satisfy the interests of multiple constituencies that might have conflicting orientations. This research bibliography examines different types of standards that have been applied to food products and the processes by which they have entered an agricultural market. It is particularly focused on how these standards have been historically constructed and promoted, the human endeavors to make them relevant. Many of the cited sources are specific to the American context, but they also point to international regulations and oversight regimes. In addition to issues of food safety (at both national and international levels), it explores the concept of “grading” to differentiate the value or quality of a commodity (however that might be defined). Food standards can also be used to distinguish less visible qualities of a food product that are important to a consumer, such as sustainable, organic, or in support of equitable labor practices. Standards are also applied to food products serving specific religious communities and dietary guidelines. This article also includes websites maintained by institutions and organizations with a vested interest in promoting a particular set of standards.