Do food standards affect the quality of EU imports?

•We study the relation between the diffusion of food standards and the quality of EU imports.•We find that on average, the diffusion of standards boosts the rate of quality upgrading.•We find heterogeneity considering primary vs. processed products and ISO vs. non-ISO standards.

This paper investigates the relationship between the diffusion of EU standards and product quality upgrading using highly disaggregated import data to the EU in the food industry. Results show that, on average, the diffusion of EU voluntary standards boosts the rate of quality upgrading. However, the results are heterogeneous when moving from primary to processed foods, and from ISO to non-ISO standards.