Enforcement

‘Amnesia belly’ has entered the international tourist vocabulary. To combat this impression of poor food safety, the Amnesian government has called for a fundamental overhaul of food safety regulation. A particular emphasis has been placed on the enforcement of safety standards. The government has asked the Amnesian Food Enforcement Agency (AFEA) to disseminate information and to inspect restaurants and other food-sellers. Training and ‘capacity building’ for inspectors is to take place. Tourists are particularly attracted to the food sold by Amnesian street vendors. Recent studies have shown that 40 per cent of all food sold by these vendors poses a risk to human health. At the same time, larger restaurant chains have been complaining about the rude and seemingly inconsistent and unreasonable conduct of the officials tasked with enforcing food standards.Consider alternative strategies to deal with the enforcement of safety standards for restaurants and street vendors, their implications in terms of costs and wider effects, and recommend enforcement strategies. This requires an assessment of what the underlying problem is, why voluntary compliance might not forthcoming, and what strategies are likely to make regulated parties do what we want them to do.