How One of The World’s Oldest Food Safety Standards Approaches Expiration

How One of The World’s Oldest Food Safety Standards Approaches Expiration: The Case of German Beer

Eble, Philipp (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam)
de Vries, H.J. (TU Delft Economics of Technology and Innovation; Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam)

O'Connor, Rory V. (editor)
Jakobs, Kai (editor)

2018

The paper at hand contemplatesthe effect of a centuries-old national food safety standard on innovation in aglobalizing market. To that end, the case of the German Beer Industry is analysedto explicate the relationship between a longstanding beer purity decree and brewinginnovation. Over 500 years of existence the so-called “Reinheitsgebot”, nowlaid down in federal German law, has served to restrict variety and safeguardthe quality of locally-produced beers. In turn, the standard prominently shapedthe national image as well as consumer preferences across all regions inGermany. This research however demonstrates how this has overwhelmingly broughtabout adverse consequences for the international relevance of German beer in anincreasingly globalised economy, which favours diversity in tastes. Due tochanging consumption trends and the constricted innovative ability of German brewers,the findings inform government’s responsibility in standardisation for traditionalconsumer goods industries at a time of urgent need for action.

Standard
Beer
Food safety
Reinheitsgebot

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:40aad010-ce69-49c4-90f8-71b45b6ad5a6

Wissenschaftsverlag Mainz, Aachen

978-3-95886-229-6

Proceedings of 23rd EURAS Annual Standardisation Conference: Standards for a Smarter Future

EURAS Conference 2018, 2018-06-13 → 2018-06-15, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

EURAS contributions to standardisation research (13)

Institutional Repository

conference paper

© 2018 Philipp Eble, H.J. de Vries