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

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 927
Author(s):  
Na Luo ◽  
Tava Lennon Olsen ◽  
Yanping Liu

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.

2021 ◽  
pp. 41-53
Author(s):  
Yaşanur Kayıkcı ◽  
Nazlıcan Gözaçan ◽  
Çisem Lafcı ◽  
Yiğit Kazançoğlu

Author(s):  
S. Su Baysal ◽  
M. Ali Ülkü

Sustainable production and consumption of food are vital for sustainable development. About one-third of all food produced for humans are either lost or wasted causing increased food insecurity and immense economic and social costs. In a world where famine has been an alarming issue, any action to reduce food loss and waste (FLW) is crucial. This chapter reviews, from a sustainable supply chain perspective, the extant literature on food supply chains and discusses FLW issues, especially within the context of sustainable consumption of fruits and vegetables. A framework for sustainable food supply chains (SFSCs) from both production and consumption ends are discussed. In doing so, such current disruptive intelligent technologies as blockchain and the internet of things are emphasized as potential enablers for SFSCs. Mainly driven by consumers' awareness of the pressing issues in the world and consumption behaviour, mitigating FLW in SFSCs would not only result in efficient land and water use but also positively impact climate change and livelihoods towards sustainable development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong He ◽  
Hongfu Huang ◽  
Dong Li ◽  
Chunming Shi ◽  
Sarah J. Wu

We present a literature review on quality and operations management problems in food supply chains. In food industry, the quality of the food products declines over time and should be addressed in the supply chain operations management. Managing food supply chains with operations management methods not only generates economic benefit, but also contributes to environmental and social benefits. The literature on this topic has been burgeoning in the past few years. Since 2005, more than 100 articles have been published on this topic in major operations research and management science journals. In this literature review, we concentrate on the quantitative models in this research field and classify the related articles into four categories, that is, storage problems, distribution problems, marketing problems, and food traceability and safety problems. We hope that this review serves as a reference for interested researchers and a starting point for those who wish to explore it further.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Martindale ◽  
Mark Swainson ◽  
Sonal Choudhary

Pressure points in global food supply where resilience in supply chains can be limited or controlled are the equivalent of Critical Control Points in food safety systems. The approach of using critical control in supply chains can provide insights for nutritional improvement, sustainable food trade and food waste reduction. The pressure points determine the provision of a secure and sustainable food system where the outcomes of reducing their criticality are identified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other international programmes. These seek to reduce climate change impact and improve public health provision. While policy makers are rightly focussed on these targets, the data analysis methods required to rank and associate resource flow pressure points with commercial food supply chains and nutritional goals remain untested. Here, we show how methodologies can identify where opportunities to tackle future criticality exist, and where they are currently being overlooked for food categories that have the greatest consumer and dietary protein demand. The analysis provides insights that identify where latent restrictions in resilience can occur, so that the future risk of food insecurity is reduced.


2007 ◽  
Vol 363 (1492) ◽  
pp. 849-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gail Smith

This paper reviews the opportunities available for food businesses to encourage consumers to eat healthier and more nutritious diets, to invest in more sustainable manufacturing and distribution systems and to develop procurement systems based on more sustainable forms of agriculture. The important factors in developing more sustainable supply chains are identified as the type of supply chain involved and the individual business attitude to extending responsibility for product quality into social and environmental performance within their own supply chains. Interpersonal trust and working to standards are both important to build more sustainable local and many conserved food supply chains, but inadequate to transform mainstream agriculture and raw material supplies to the manufactured and commodity food markets. Cooperation among food manufacturers, retailers, NGOs, governmental and farmers’ organizations is vital in order to raise standards for some supply chains and to enable farmers to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 899 (1) ◽  
pp. 012001
Author(s):  
V A Gkountani ◽  
G T Tsoulfas ◽  
N P Rachaniotis

Abstract Agri-food supply chains have a multitude of roles for the mankind. Among others, they encompass the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy; they are responsible for feeding the planet; they are associated with various environmental and social impacts. Therefore, their operation, efficiency and performance are crucial in many contexts. In this paper we investigate the transitions of agri-food supply chains towards two different goals: circular economy and resilience. Circular economy has been a focal priority in the EU and global agenda, which aims at redefining the patterns that have been associated with linear economy models in order to meet environmental, social, and economic challenges of our era. On the other hand, supply chain resilience is the capacity of supply chains to be prepared for unexpected risk events, act and recover promptly to probable disruptions, and return to their original position or move to a better ideal condition. In particular, we focus on the enablers and barriers for both goals and identify possible convergences and deviations. The former are expected to lead to win-win opportunities, whereas the latter will lead to trade-offs.


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