Food Loss And Waste Research Articles

Food loss and waste in food services from educational institutions in Costa Rica

One-third of the worldwide food production is lost or wasted, generating impacts in the food systems. However, data indicates that one in nine people suffer from undernourishment or shortage of food in the world. Furthermore, this problem generates adverse impacts in the environment and the economy. Costa Rica is not exempt from this phenomenon; therefore, in compliance with target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the country initiated actions through the Costa Rican Food Loss and Waste Reduction Network and one of its members, the Costa Rican Network of Sustainable Educational Institutions (REDIES). This latter committed itself to quantify the food loss and waste (FLW) in the canteens from a pilot group of their members. The objective of this case study was to determine the FLW in the restaurants of five institutions to generate data experience that allows to create indicators and useful information in the search for strategies against food waste. The amount of FLW was measured using the standardized methodology explained in the Guide for this purpose, published by the Costa Rican Network. In general terms, most FLW in this case study comes from the amount of food leftovers. Consequently, it is concluded and recommended to focus on awareness campaigns, quality and portioning to address the issue, and to consider that each institution must place emphasis through its reduction plan with respect to the findings generated in each food service or canteen.

Enhancing food security and environmental sustainability: A critical review of food loss and waste management

Food loss and waste (FLW) occurs at each and every stage of the food supply chain. The current linear model of FLW management (incineration and landfill) creates a linear path of nutrients utilization, which threatens food security and environmental sustainability in the long run. Circular economy model has been proposed as an efficient strategy to reduce and recycle FLW. Although many literature reviews were conducted to realize the transition from linear model to circular economy, a more focused and rigorous assessment of FLW reduction and recycling is currently not available. A lot of work remains in order to translate this “circular model” into an actionable plan. By reviewing the recent progress in the FLW management in the literature, this paper highlights their pros and cons to provide a deep and comprehensive understanding about the “circular model”. This review can provide a deeper analysis of “circular” solutions to existing linear pathways, which play an important role in enhancing food security and environmental sustainability in future. • The circular model and linear model of food loss and waste management are elucidated. • The pros and cons of food loss and waste reduction and recycling are highlighted. • The relationship of food loss and waste management with food security and environmental sustainability are discussed.

Climate action and food security: Strategies to reduce GHG emissions from food loss and waste in emerging economies

Peru struggles to upgrade its waste management, with landfilling only just overtaking open dumpsters as the main disposal method. Despite the benefits of this transition, including reduced environmental impacts to water and soil, previous studies demonstrated that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may increase if adequate levels of technological sophistication are not implemented. Considering that 58% of municipal solid waste (MSW) is organic, it seems plausible that a relevant portion of emissions can be linked directly to food loss and waste (FLW) management. This study aims to determine the GHG emissions mitigation potential in FLW compared to the current baseline scenario in 24 Peruvian cities, by modelling alternative technologies to treat organic MSW. Life cycle modelling was performed using the waste-LCA software EASETECH. Five treatment scenarios were modelled: i) open dumping; ii) landfilling with no gas treatment; iii) landfilling with landfill gas treatment; iv) landfilling with energy recovery; and, v) anaerobic digestion. GHG emissions of FLW generation proved to be substantially higher than those for FLW treatment. However, if sophisticated technologies are implemented in FLW treatment, an annual reduction of up to 1.56 Mt CO2eq could be attained. Moreover, despite the health and environmental benefits of a transition to optimized diets, in which, for example, meat consumption is reduced and vegetables are boosted, an important increase in FLW and, therefore, an increase in GHG emissions in the treatment phase is shown. However, if certain technologies, such as energy recovery or anaerobic digestion, were implemented, most carbon losses would be avoided.

Quantification of Food Losses and Waste in Peru: A Mass Flow Analysis along the Food Supply Chain

The quantification of food losses and waste (FLW) has become a research hotspot in the last decade, but little work has been done to have food waste data in Latin American countries. This paper contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by examining the magnitude of FLW along the whole food supply chain (FSC) in Peru. The methodological approach was based on the top-down mass flow analysis at all steps of the FSC for the 2007–2017 period (most recently available data), including different food commodity groups (CGs), such as cereals, roots and tubers, oil seeds and pulses, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and seafood, and milk. Results show an annual average of FLW of 12.8 million tonnes, which represents 47.76% of the national food supply. Regarding per capita quantities, the average amount of FLW was 426.56 kg per year when considering the entire FSC, and 67.34 kg per year when considering only the consumption step. This study suggests which steps of the FSC and CGs are the most promising targets for FLW reduction strategies in Peru.

Food loss and waste in food supply chains. A systematic literature review and framework development approach

This study examines the state of the art of the literature in the domain of food loss and waste (FLW) in food supply chains (FSC). The authors used a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to examine and synthesise the findings of the existing literature to identify the key research themes, research gaps and avenues of future research on FLW in FSC. To this end, this SLR considered 152 articles relevant for the review. The authors uncovered the extant literature in the domain by presenting the research profile of the selected studies, along with thematic analysis. The authors identified eight key themes from the extant literature. The themes range from factors responsible for FLW generation to new, emerging areas of research such as digitalisation and food surplus redistribution. The study’s findings will help clarify existing practices in FSC for waste mitigation and act as a foundation for strategic and policy initiatives in this area. The findings indicate that the major factors responsible for FLW include the poor management of perishable food items, stakeholder attitudes, buyer−supplier agreements and supply chain interruptions. Some of the important implications of the study include formal guidelines and policy-level interventions for assisting the accurate quantification of FLW along with an impetus on digitalisation to reduce FLW. The study concludes with the development of a research framework to assist future research in this domain.

Ameliorating food loss and waste in the supply chain through multi-stakeholder collaboration

We elaborate mechanisms through which multi-stakeholder collaboration can ameliorate food loss and waste (FLW) from the end-to-end supply chain. In this context, we integrate the discourse on collaborative relationships in supply chains with stakeholder theory (roles and orientations) and use a multi-method approach combining systematic literature review (SLR) and embedded case studies based on secondary data. We develop a conceptual framework that illustrates collective stakeholder orientation emerging from aligned vertical and horizontal stakeholder orientation across the supply chain towards reducing FLW. We explain how achieving such alignment requires these stakeholders to navigate various collaboration conditions (structural and sporadic) that otherwise spur individualism, culminating in FLW mitigation efforts across food supply chains. We develop propositions, motivate future research, and offer practical implications.

Measurement of Food Losses in a Hungarian Dairy Processing Plant.

The phenomenon of food waste and food loss at any stage of the supply chain is significant in developed economies. The purpose of this article is to highlight the areas of milk processing where milk loss occurs, and, after quantifying the data obtained, reveal the extent of the losses. To achieve the goals, we conducted on-site visits to one of Hungary’s milk processors. The methodology is based on the Food Loss and Waste (FLW) standard, accordingly we determined the extent of milk loss at the company level, supplemented with loss values by each dairy product. During the analyzed processing stages (receiving of raw milk, skimming, pasteurization, Extended Shelf-Life (ESL) milk, cheese milk, sour cream, yoghurt, and kefir) 1203.4–1406.8 L of raw material per day can be accounted as losses, which makes up 0.9–1% of daily production. A Milk Production-Milk Losses (MPML) model was created where six factors (technology and automation, design of the plant aspects, quantity of orders, expertise of employees, number of product variants, optimal storage capacity) were methodized that significantly influence the rate of milk losses over different time periods. Our paper highlights how areas of the production stage can be developed to decrease milk loss.

A Conceptual Framework to Analyze Food Loss and Waste within Food Supply Chains: An Operations Management Perspective

Alongside the development of the circular economy and sustainable food supply chains (FSCs), research on food loss and waste (FLW) reduction and prevention has drawn much attention from academia, practitioners, and governments. The significance of FLW has been highlighted in the literature due to its impact on society, economy, and the environment. We propose a conceptual framework to systematically examine FLW issues within FSCs in the field of operations management (OM). We discuss various types and distribution modes of FSCs where FLW occurs, definitions of FLW, the impacts of FLW, and measures to reduce FLW in the OM field. We further introduce the methodologies that have been applied in existing FLW studies. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, it proposes a conceptual framework to identify FLW problems within FSCs. Second, it helps to comprehensively understand FLW occurrence and thus stimulate research focusing on FLW from different perspectives. Third, it motivates researchers to discuss FLW issues by applying different methodologies.

Moving Towards an Environmentally Sustainable Food Sector Through Mitigation of Food Losses and Wastage-A Possibilitarian’s Approach

One in nine people in the world do not have sufficient food to lead a healthy life. But at the same time, 1/3rd of all the food produced in the world, does so only to get lost (Food Loss) or wasted (Food Waste). Food loss (FL) mostly happens due to reasons beyond the direct control of the actor, e.g., uncertainty of weather, market fluctuations, inadequate storage facilities, low levels of post harvest technology etc. On the other hand, food waste (FW) is a waste ofperfectly edible food by choice or negligence (left to spoil or expire) on the part of the actor [1] in retail, food service units and household of the consumer. FW includes intentional discarding of food due to poor shopping patterns, or when retailers reject ugly but perfectly edible produce, or food discarded by hotels wh en the production exceeds the demand. The quantum of food loss and waste (FLW) does not reflect the fact that large amounts of water for irrigation, land for planting, energy for harvest, transportation and processing, agricultural and animal husbandry inputs and efforts of our brothers and sisters at the farm, as well as in the production and supply chain of the food we eat, simply ends up as waste. To exemplify, let us consider just one input “water ” th at has gone into each unit of edible material sitting in the consumer’s refrigerator, and is likely to expire or go stale. If we throw a glass ofstale milk, the 255 litres of water that have gone into its production and delivery to us, also go waste. When we discard 250 gm of stale bread (due to excessive purchase and poor meal planning), we are discarding 402 L of water that went into its production from farm to fork [2]. Similarly, it wastes all the other inputs (like use of land, fertilisers, energy, manpower etc.) that have gone into the production of that food item. Further, the wasted food also emits tonnes of greenhouse gases. This accounts for our larger than necessary Food Eco-Footprin t. It has even been said that iffood waste was a country, it would be the third largest emitting country in the world-that’s the extent of damage it causes to the environment. Regardless of our purchasing power or development status of our countries, there is a strong environmental, financial, social and ethical rationale to save FLW. This concept paper elaborates on the scenario, the problem at hand and also suggests a possibilitarian’s approach to combat the same through a strategic framework for mitigation of FLW and the smart society’s FLW pyramid.

Theoretical Model of Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Generation in Household and Empirical Evidence

Theoretical Model of Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Generation in Household and Empirical Evidence

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO TACKLING FOOD WASTE: MOVING THE AGENDA FORWARD

COVID 19 disrupted food supply chains worldwide. Existing problems, such as food and nutrition insecurity, increased exponentially. It has become imperative to move to a more sustainable and equitable food system. In this sense, the challenge in researching food losses and waste (FLW) and proposing solutions mobilizes transdisciplinary approaches and processes to transform food supply chains in an effective manner. Understanding how much food we produce and consume is no easy task. So many different geographical, cultural and societal contexts and levels of economic development and urbanization result in quantitative and qualitative limitations © RAE ;Sao Paulo

Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach

The generation of food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem for worldwide politics. About one-third of the food produced ends up in the rubbish before it is consumed. For this reason, it is essential to design and implement new strategies along the food supply chain (FSC) with the aim of reducing this FLW at each stage. However, not only mass quantification should be considered, but also economic and nutritional performance. The novelty of this study is the definition of a methodology based on the “distance to target” approach by means of multi-objective optimization to evaluate the economic and nutritional cost produced by this FLW. This methodology was applied to the Spanish food basket in 2015. The results revealed that 80% of the total FLW generated in economic and nutritional terms is concentrated in the agricultural production (53.3%) and consumption (26.3%) stages. In the first stages of the FSC, fruits (Dn eq.= 0.7), cereals (Dn eq.= 0.61), and vegetables (Dn eq.= 0.57) were the furthest from the distance target due to the great amount of FLW generated. Moreover, according to the normalized weighted distances obtained from the minimization of economic and nutritional cost, pulses (Dn eq. = 0.05–0.03) and eggs (Dn eq. = 0.02) were the more efficient food categories. The methodology described in this study proposes a single index to quantify the economic and nutritional cost of different food categories to facilitate the decision-making process. This index makes possible the definition of reduction strategies focused on specific food categories and depending on the FSC stage.

Reducing food loss and waste in a two-echelon food supply chain: A quantum game approach

This paper proposes a quantum game to study the food loss and waste (FLW) reduction in a two-echelon food supply chain (FSC) consisting of single supplier and single retailer. First, a Non-zero-sum game model based on the efforts of supplier and retailer in the process of FLW reduction is developed. Then, the classic strategy space is extended to quantum strategy space. The results show that in both classical environment and the separable quantum game scenario, it is difficult to achieve the Pareto optimal strategy of the two parties adopting the full effort strategy, because the full-effort party will bear the risk of betrayal by the non-effort party. However, in the context of maximally entangled quantum game, the risk causing by the non-effort party are borne by himself rather than the full-effort party. Correspondingly, both parties will adopt the full effort strategy to achieve a win-win situation and improve FLW in FSC significantly. Furthermore, an entanglement contract is proposed to ensure that neither of them has the motivation to deviate from the quantum strategy. Based on these findings, some managerial implications are presented to improve the level of cooperation and effort of the supplier and the retailer on FLW reduction.

Regionalized Strategies for Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach.

Food loss and waste (FLW) has become a central concern in the social and political debate. Simultaneously, using FLW as a bioenergy source could significantly contribute to closing the carbon cycle by reintroducing energy into the food supply chain. This study aims to identify best strategies for FLW management in each of the 17 regions in Spain, through the application of a Life Cycle Assessment. To this end, an evaluation of the environmental performance over time between 2015 and 2040 of five different FLW management scenarios implemented in a framework of (i) compliance and (ii) non-compliance with the targets of the Paris Agreement was performed. Results revealed savings in the consumption of abiotic resources in those regions in which thermal treatment has a strong presence, although their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a scenario of compliance with climate change targets are higher. In contrast, scenarios that include anaerobic digestion and, to a lesser extent those applying aerobic composting, present lower impacts, including climate change, suggesting improvements of 20–60% in non-compliance and 20–80% in compliance with Paris Agreement targets, compared to the current scenarios.

A system-wide interdisciplinary conceptual framework for food loss and waste mitigation strategies in the supply chain

The issues of food loss and waste (FLW) in the global supply chains have recently gained attention. However, causes for FLW and their mitigation strategies for curbing FLW at different stages of the supply chains remains under researched. Our research aims to address these research gaps in a three-fold way: i), we identified key causes (through root-cause analysis) of FLW in the supply chain of developed and less developed countries; ii), systematically classified measures and policies, which have been implemented to mitigate FLW; iii), developed an interdisciplinary conceptual framework for waste utilisation practices that can contribute towards the triple bottom-line in food system. A root-cause analysis was performed, and mitigation strategies identified by systematically analysing and synthesizing the extant research published over the past 20 years (1998 to 2018) in the areas of food loss and waste in the supply chain. A conceptual model for the prevention of FLW utilising a systems approach through the circular economy concept has been proposed. Since the agri-food sector is largely interdisciplinary, we have also demonstrated a method of integrating contributions from multiple disciplines in our proposed model towards achieving a total depollution (zero waste supply chain).

Food loss and waste in the Brazilian beef supply chain: an empirical analysis

PurposeThe livestock sector contributes significantly to the Brazilian economy, but also creates many environmental and social issues. To mitigate these problems and help counteract the effects of the growing production demand, it is essential to address the prevention of food loss and waste (FLW). Therefore, the aim of the present study is to identify the causes of FLW, model their interrelationships and determine their root causes for the Brazilian beef supply chain (SC).Design/methodology/approach16 causes are analysed using an integrated interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and matrix impact of cross-multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) methodology. ISM identified interrelationships among the causes and MICMAC determined the root causes of FLW.FindingsThe ISM highlights the “Lack of transportation infrastructures”, “Inadequate handling”, “Poor operational performance”, “Variety of products available in supermarkets” and “Unhealthy animals and outbreaks of disease” as the most influential causes and the MICMAC classifies them as the root causes of FLW in the Brazilian beef SC.Practical implicationsThe results provide fundamental insights for researchers, practitioners and policymakers, by exploring which causes are more influential and which are the root causes, thereby assisting the SC members in the definition of suitable strategies to mitigate FLW.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical analysis of the interdependencies between the causes of FLW in the beef SC.

Land and water footprints associated with rice and maize losses in Brazil

Food loss and waste (FLW) implies the loss of valuable natural resources; this has a negative impact on economic, environmental, and social issues, worldwide. As a prominent world food producer, Brazil has high levels of food loss and, hence, loss/waste of natural resources. This study aims to estimate the amount of the land footprint (LF) and water footprint (WF) associated with rice and maize losses in Brazil. The investigation involved the analysis of annual data obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) regarding the planted areas, harvested area, and the production and loss of rice and maize in Brazil from 1988–2017, in order to estimate the LF and WF associated with rice and maize losses. In Brazil, rice loss is responsible for an average annual LF of 400,000 ha with a negative trend (slope) of 13,852 ha/year and maize loss is responsible for an average annual LF of 1.26 million ha with a negative trend (slope) of 7973 ha/year. In Brazil, the average annual LF of rice loss is about 11.46 % of the rice planted area and the average annual LF of maize loss is about 9.34 % of the maize planted area. Rice loss is associated with an average annual WF of 3.06 billion m3 and maize loss is associated with an average annual WF of 7.37 billion m3. The average annual WF per ha of planted area for maize and rice losses is 533 m3/ha and 949 m3/ha, respectively. The results reinforce the need for promoting actions to drastically reduce FLW, worldwide. This study encourages the adoption of more drastic public policies in order to reduce FLW and, consequently, decrease the waste of natural resources and curtail the associated environmental impacts.

Reducing food loss and waste: Five challenges for policy and research

Despite broad agreement in policy circles on the need to reduce food loss and waste (FLW), considerable gaps in information still exist. This paper identifies policy-relevant information gaps, summarizes recent research that tries to fill these gaps and identifies five challenges for researchers, policymakers and practitioners in reducing FLW. The five challenges identified are: (i) measuring and monitoring FLW, (ii) assessing benefits and costs of FLW reduction and the tradeoffs involved, (iii) designing FLW-related policies and interventions under limited information, (iv) understanding how interactions between stages along food value chain and across countries affect outcomes of FLW reduction efforts, (v) preparing for income transitions and the shifting relative importance of losses and waste as economies develop.

An analysis of multi-stakeholder initiatives to reduce food loss and waste in an emerging country – Brazil

This paper aims to investigate the roles adopted by the distinct stakeholders that are engaged in a voluntary initiative to reduce food loss and waste (FLW) in the context of an emerging country. Data were collected by way of participant observation in multi-stakeholder events, observation visits and interviews with 54 food sector stakeholders, and from secondary data. The theoretical contribution of this paper is that it provides a systemic and realistic perspective for tackling FLW, as research in the field usually only focuses on one supply chain agent, or on consumer behaviour. Another contribution that may be replicated in other countries has to do with the role of each stakeholder in identifying the processes with which they are involved for reducing FLW. Activities and actions in a multi-stakeholder initiative change according to their positioning at the institutional or value chain level of analysis. Future studies should consider the extensive interplay that exists between the institutional and value chain levels in the food sector, and how they interact

A Worldwide Hotspot Analysis on Food Loss and Waste, Associated Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Protein Losses

Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is prioritized in UN sustainable development goals (SDG) target 12.3 to contribute to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. It is expected to significantly improve global food security and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Identifying “hotspots” from different perspectives of sustainability helps to prioritize the food items for which interventions can lead to the largest reduction of FLW-related impacts. Existing studies in this field have limitations, such as having incomplete geographical and food commodity coverage, using outdated data, and focusing on the mass of FLW instead of its nutrient values. To provide renewed and more informative insights, we conducted a global hotspot analysis concerning FLW with its associated GHG emissions and protein losses using the most recent data (the new FAO Food Balance Sheets updated in 2020). The findings of this research are that there were 1.9 Gt of FLW, 2.5 Gt of associated GHG emissions, and 0.1 Gt of associated protein losses globally in 2017. The results of the FLW amounts, GHG emissions, and protein losses per chain link are given on the scale of the entire world and continental regions. Next to this, food items with relatively high FLW, GHG emissions, and protein losses are highlighted to provide the implications to policymakers for better decision making. For example, fruits and vegetables contribute the most to global FLW volumes, but the product with the highest FLW-associated GHG emissions is bovine meat. For bovine meat, FLW-associated GHG emissions are highest at the consumer stage of North America and Oceania. Oil crops are the major source of protein losses in the global food chain. Another important finding with policy implications is that priorities for FLW reduction vary, dependent on prioritized sustainability criteria (e.g., GHG emissions versus protein losses).