Using a methodological approach to model causes of food loss and waste in fruit and vegetable supply chains

Abstract

Food loss and waste occur at all stages of the food supply chain. Since their causes are interconnected and may influence each other, then approaches with holistic supply chain perspectives are useful to map their relationships and guide the selection, design and implementation of the appropriate mitigation strategies. In this paper, 14 causes of food loss and waste in fruit and vegetable supply chains were identified and divided into seven levels of influence, by the Interpretive Structural Modelling methodology, showing that the logistic related causes have a major influence on the others. Furthermore, five root causes were identified by the Matrix Impact of Cross Multiplication Applied to Classification analysis (inadequate transportation systems, inadequate or defective packaging, lack of storage facilities, poor handling and operational performance and lack of coordination and information sharing) and used to discuss the mitigation strategies that should be implemented to reduce food loss and waste.