Growing concern about food safety indicates that supply chains play a predominant role in the productive process. The concepts of Supply Chain Management (SCM) may contribute substantially toward a more uniform process throughout the chain, facilitating the sharing of information and productive practices. This paper discusses the structure, links and degree of integration of Brazil’s pork export supply chain based on the model of Lambert et al. (1998), and the relation of SCM to the valuation of pork attributes and the implementation of food safety programs. Our empirical research was based on a sample of ten hog breeders whose production volume represented about 73% of the hogs slaughtered in 2002. Our findings reveal a supply chain strongly influenced by the meat processing industry, whose connections with suppliers and buyers are of the managed type. These findings, and the confirmation of the importance of SCM in the valuation of pork meat attributes and the implementation of food safety programs, place the processing industry in the position of key coordinator of policies aimed at promoting the safety of Brazilian pork.
supply chain management; food safety; pork
