EU food safety assurance in active use: empirical evidence on alert notifications regarding the financial background of the affected producers

The presence of various market failures in placing foodstuff on market is a phenomenon that can also be identified across European countries. From an economic point of view, it is possible to discuss food safety in the context of the development and financial stability of the agro-food industry value chains. The given sector in some EU member states has faced and is still facing pressure to reduce food producers prices often below the level of production costs, which can negatively affect food safety standards. This relationship consequently touches the issue of wasting natural resources and related processed foods, which do not meet the minimum legal requirements for their safety. EU member countries use for these purposes a type of “safety net” via an information exchange instrument named Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASSF). This instrument is sharing information both with public authorities and also consumers. This article aims at identification of RASSF notifications provided by the Czech Republic during years 2023 and 2024 from the point of view of financial situation of respective food producers involved in this notification alerts. Based on the partial results of this article, it was concluded that the indicators of financial stability and revenue areas can be indirectly considered as proxy variables affecting the complex quality of food production. The comprehensive provision of information on the quality management of food production by individual producers can therefore be considered a fundamental aspect influencing consumer behaviour, which is related to the possibility of continuous improvement of the concepts of sustainable food quality assurance.