Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Understanding Trust Dynamics in EU Food Safety Regulation.

The ways in which trust can be maintained or enhanced have long been the subject of academic debate. But while there is ample literature on the determinants of trust amongst individuals and between individuals and organizations, wide gaps remain about the conditions under which trust in regulatory regimes varies. Specifically, the complex interplay of the formation of trust amongst different actors of regulatory regimes is underexplored. Because of its consequences for regulators’ democratic legitimacy, it is vital to understand the conditions under which these regulators are trusted. In this sense, the present study aims to uncover the determinants of trust in EU regulatory bodies. To illustrate, we analyze the case of the food safety sector in general, and the European Food Safety Authority in particular. Using data from the original dataset collected by the H2020 project Trust in Government and Regulation in Europe (TiGRE), we show that trust in EU regulators is determined by the type of organization the trustee belongs to, their degree of expertise, as well as their age. This paper has both academic value and practical relevance, since understanding changes in trust can be paramount for effective policymaking.