MEAT SAFETY AS A TOOL OF DIFFERENTIATION FOR RETAILERS: SPANISH AND FRENCH EXAMPLES OF MEAT «SUPPLY CHAIN BRANDS»

Purpose – Since several food crises have strongly affected the production of animal food products, food safety has become one of the most important aspects of quality products for both consumers and retailers. The aim of this article is to analyse how the health crises have contributed to increasing the segmentation of the supply of fresh and little‐processed food products under the impetus of a reinforcement of regulations (affecting the supply chain as a whole) and of strategies adopted by the stakeholders.Design/methodology/approach – The authors carry out an empirical and comparative analysis of the reactions of two neighbouring countries (Spain and France) faced with major health crises caused by similar events: the emergence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) cases. A special focus is made on the initiatives taken privately by two French retail groups (Carrefour and Auchan) operating in both countries.Findings – The analysis shows that retailers have developed systems of quality insurance dev...