Structuring Non-State Private Food Safety and Quality Regulatory Organisations: The Legitimating Role of the State and Accreditation Bodies

The emergence of non-state regulatory organisations has not led to the demise of the state. This chapter argues that the state and its delegated entities play a particularly important role in legitimating non-state regulatory organisations through the power of their support and endorsements, and by providing standards and guidelines with which non-state regulatory organisations use as building blocks for their structures, practices and processes. The authority conferred upon state endorsement ensures that the state, at different levels, remains a powerful actor that possesses at least the potential to dictate the structures, practices and processes of non-state regulatory organisations. Furthermore, this chapter shed a light on the significant contribution that accreditation bodies play in legitimating non-state regulatory organisations. Finally, I suggest that the importance of states, their delegated entities and accreditation bodies lies in the complimentary role these actors play as creators and carriers of the building blocks upon which non-state regulatory organisations seek to construct legitimate regulatory systems.