Transnational Private Regulation in Food Safety and Quality: The Case of GLOBALGAP, Case Report for Project ‘Constitutional Foundations of Transnational Private Regulation’

The study proceeds in three parts which follow the Template. In what follows, Part I of the case study report will contextualise the case of GLOBALG.A.P. Section B provides a brief history of the regulation of food safety and quality, an examination of the actors which are part of the regulatory regime, and outlines some of the main developments which have occurred in the policy area. From here, Section C maps the regulatory landscape of this policy sphere by spotlighting the rationales for regulation, the regulators involved, the scope and the locus of regulation. Part III provides a rich evaluation of both the emergence and governance of GLOBALG.A.P.. Part III begins with an examination of the emergence of GLOBALG.A.P.. Next, this case study report assesses the development of GLOBALG.A.P. from the perspective of the four core criteria which this project is concerned with. Firstly, the legitimacy of GLOBALG.A.P. is addressed along three lines, namely participation, accountability and transparency. Here, it must be stated that structures, practices and processes which GLOBALG.A.P. has developed intertwine all three criteria given the related nature of each factor. From here, I examine the monitoring and enforcement system which has been developed by GLOBALG.A.P. and highlight key changes which have occurred throughout the life of the system. Next, the issue of quality is analysed with regard to both the procedural and substantive quality of GLOBALG.A.P.’s standard setting, monitoring and enforcement. Finally, I move to the issue of effectiveness.