A Participatory Approach to Minimizing Food Waste in the Food Industry—A Manual for Managers

Causes and prevention practices of food waste in fruit and vegetable supply chains: How is Brazil dealing with these issues?

This study aims to identify the main causes of food waste (especially fruit and vegetables) and their relationship with prevention practices at supermarket and supplier levels. To do so, we conducted case studies in four Brazilian supermarket chains and their suppliers. Our findings show that although supermarkets seem to be concerned about avoiding food waste, they mostly focus on internal prevention actions, reflecting the lack of collaboration and information between supermarkets and suppliers. The low investment of supermarkets in actions to prevent food waste is focused only on their internal operations and, despite this, training is inefficient due to the high level of staff turnover and lack of involvement of suppliers in participating in this training. The use of technologies such as packaging, traceability, refrigeration, and transport equipment is insufficient, it increases production costs. A lack of strict legislation in Brazil makes it difficult for supermarkets and suppliers to donate food. Cultural issues specific to Brazil, such as consumer overhandling fruit and vegetables before buying these products, generate a great deal of waste. The paper contributes to the literature by identifying the main root causes of food waste and providing a list of prevention practices that supermarkets and suppliers can benefit from. Managerially, it can help supermarket managers spot the causes of food waste within their operations, and hence change, improve or implement practices and behavior to prevent food waste.

The Impact of the Nutritional Knowledge of Polish Students Living Outside the Family Home on Consumer Behavior and Food Waste

Food waste remains a major problem for the world and food security. Despite the fact that consumers are significant producers of food waste, little research attention has been paid to young people who are in college and living away from the family home. The present study aimed to assess food waste among college students living away from the family home, taking into account the nutritional knowledge acquired during college. In addition, the goal was to compare how nutritional knowledge affects food waste and consumer behavior in the study group. Descriptive statistics were performed on behaviors with food management at home, as well as shopping planning and self-shopping at the store, for the total respondents, students with nutritional knowledge and students without such knowledge. A chi-square test was performed to show whether the field of study influences the frequency of food throwing away and the appropriate management of excess food. Spearman's rank correlations were calculated for the frequency of food discarding, the frequency and amount of shopping and the field of study. The results indicate that the field of study determined food discarding and appropriate food management (p < 0.05), while it was found that fermented dairy beverages, fruits and vegetables and bread were the most frequently discarded foods in both study groups (p < 0.05). Students with nutritional knowledge were less likely to throw away food compared to students without nutritional knowledge and were better at managing excess food.

Generation and prevention of food waste in the German food service sector in the COVID-19 pandemic - Digital approaches to encounter the pandemic related crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the food service processes and operations in many ways, such as the use of contactless payment methods or ordering systems has increased. Despite the pandemic-related obstacles the sector faces, SDG12.3, halving food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030, needs to be achieved. This study therefore examines the two questions: How far has the pandemic affected the generation of food waste and the implementation of prevention measures? How does the use of digital technology, which has been increasingly accessed since the beginning of the pandemic, offer opportunities to further reduce food waste in the sector? Two online surveys were conducted. In the first survey, 84% of the 170 respondents indicated not to implement further food waste reduction measures since the start of the pandemic, while 11% do. They engaged in more targeted purchasing activities based on more conscious planning of the production volume, the reduction of menus offered, and the standardisation of menu components. In total, 91 food service companies provided data on the food wasted (in %) before and since the pandemic. Of the 179 entries made for the different waste categories, 47% indicated waste had not changed, while 42% and 11% indicated an increase/decrease, respectively. In the context of the ongoing digitalisation of the sector, possible fields of action for digital applications were identified, which are helpful in combating food waste in general and specifically during the pandemic. In this study, a classification scheme for digital food waste reduction approaches was developed. These approaches are systemised into four categories: forecasting, waste analysis, redistribution, and measures catalogue. Further, the process steps in which the applications are applied are indicated and direct and indirect effects on the generation of food waste are provided.

Achieving Zero Hunger Goal through Minimizing Waste in Food Supply Chain: Evidence from Asian Emerging Region

Agricultural products have taken center stage due to the COVID-19 pandemic as countries strive to become self-sufficient and independent. Despite this, Agri-products supply chain management has largely been ignored. Farmers are typically in charge of getting these products to market. The local market suffers because of the significant quantity of agricultural products wasted along the Agri-Food supply chain (AFSC), and export revenue is at risk. To address the issue of food waste in AFSC, this study identified the sources of food waste and proposed corrective measures for the local farming industry. Stakeholders from the farming community, transportation companies, and retailers were conducting semi-structured interviews and coding them using open-source coding. Lack of cold storage and improper handling and packaging of products have been found to have a negative impact on the distribution process in developing countries. In this regard, a well-designed supply chain strategy, network design, and information system can alleviate these issues. Farmers and transporters must be taught how to minimize damage during transport. Recycled packaging material can also be used, saving money while reducing the likelihood of product damage. This is among the pioneer studies that focus on the causes of food waste in AFSC in Pakistan.

Tackling Food Waste in All-Inclusive Resort Hotels in Egypt

Food waste remains a serious economic, environmental, and ethical problem, whether globally or at a national level. The hospitality industry is responsible for more than one-third of food waste. This study investigated the tackling of food waste in all-inclusive hotels from an employee perspective. It explored employees’ perceptions of the causes and driving factors behind food waste, and considered why food waste occurs, and how best to reduce waste to the minimum. A total of 47 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers and chefs employed in all-inclusive hotels in Hurghada, Egypt. Critical insights that emerged from the findings include that guest behavior, background, and eating habits, along with the nature of the unlimited pre-paid services offered by all-inclusive programs, are the main drivers for food waste. Furthermore, the operation’s routine and the practices of all-inclusive hotels contribute to food waste, with a lack of technology employed to tackle food waste practices. In addition, inappropriate practices of all-inclusive hotel employees during the food service cycle contribute negatively to food waste. The low room rate package of all-inclusive hotels obliges hotel managers to purchase food raw materials of inadequate quality. Consequently, the final products are below guest expectations and increase the level of food waste. The findings also indicate that guest attitudes and preferences are perceived as key drivers of food waste. This research presents an examination of staff perspectives of the causes of food waste and how to effectively reduce it in the context of an all-inclusive resort. The results have theoretical implications and implications for practitioners.

Beneficial role of biochar addition on the anaerobic digestion of food waste: A systematic and critical review of the operational parameters and mechanisms

The generation of huge amounts of food waste due to the increasing population is a serious global issue. The inadequate management of food waste and lack of proper handling approaches have created adverse negative impacts on the environment and the society. The use of traditional disposal (i.e. landfilling) and treatment (i.e. incineration and composting) methods are not considered to be efficient for managing food waste. Thus, anaerobic digestion (AD) has proven to be promising and cost-effective, as an alternative technology, for digesting and converting food waste into renewable energy and useful chemicals. However, mono-digestion of food waste suffers from process inhibition and instability which limit its efficiency. Adding biochar that has high buffering capacity and ensures optimum nutrient balance was shown to enhance biogas/methane production yields. This review reports on the physicochemical characteristics of food waste, the existing problems of food waste treatment in AD as well as the role of biochar amendments on the optimization of critical process parameters and its action mechanisms in AD, which could be a promising means of improving the AD performance. Also, this review provides insights regarding the selection of the desired/appropriate biochar characteristics, i.e. depending on the source of the feedstock and the pyrolysis temperature, and its role in enhancing biogas production and preventing the problem of process instability in the AD system. Finally, this review paper highlights the economic and environmental challenges as well as the future perspectives concerning the application of biochar amendments in AD.

A systematic literature review on food waste/loss prevention and minimization methods

Several initiatives have been proposed to address food waste and loss issues and support stakeholders throughout the food chain. However, the literature still lacks a review paper that compiles methods, practices, and solutions to reduce food waste and loss. With the goal of filling this gap, this paper aims to compile and gather food waste and loss prevention and minimization methods to support decision-makers and other stakeholders along the food chain. Through a systematic literature review, we have outlined research findings and empirical studies on food waste and loss prevention and minimization methods previously published, studied, implemented, and discussed in the scientific literature worldwide. A sample of 84 articles was analyzed. As a result, this study provides a bibliometric analysis of the sample and a classification of the prevention and minimization methods found in the articles in 10 fields established by the authors. A coverage analysis of empirical studies was also performed, cross-checking the data with the type of food extracted from the case studies application. Lastly, suggestions of future research extracted from the articles were compiled into a research agenda to indicate trends and support academics, researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders involved in the food chain to develop and study practices to minimize and prevent food waste and loss. The main contribution of this study is an inventory of the theoretical and practical methods of prevention and minimization of food waste and loss found in the literature, grouping them according to their similarities, to support stakeholders improving actions to reduce food waste in cities, farms, retail, and other sustainable ecosystems.

Measuring Circularity in Food Supply Chain Using Life Cycle Assessment; Refining Oil from Olive Kernel

Valorization of food waste is a potential strategy toward a circular food supply chain. In this regard, measuring the circularity of food waste valorization systems is highly important to better understand multiple environmental impacts. Therefore, this study investigated the circularity of a food waste valorization system (refining oil from olive kernel) using a life cycle assessment methodology. An inventory of an industrial-based olive kernel oil production system is also provided in this study. The system boundary was the cradle to the factory gate of the production system. The results indicated that natural gas consumption was the highest contributor to most of the investigated impact categories. The global warming potential of one kg of oil produced from olive kernel was calculated to be 1.37 kg CO₂eq. Moreover, the calculated damages of 1 kg oil production from olive kernel to human health, ecosystem quality, and resource depletion were 5.29 × 10⁻⁷ DALY, 0.12 PDF∙m²∙yr., and 24.40 MJ, respectively.

Exploring the Drivers and the Interventions towards Sustainable Food Security in the Food Supply Chain

The sustainability of food security is a global concern, and one of the priorities related to it is the ability to identify effective efforts that can protect food security along the food supply chain (FSC). The present study demystifies the relation of sustainability and food security and structurally identifies the sustainable drivers, and the pragmatic interventions that can critically contribute to the sustainability of food security within each stage of the FSC. A systematic review of articles from six databases was implemented. Thematic analysis was engaged to detect the sustainable drivers and interventions practised at each stage in the FSC for food security purposes. Six main themes of the drivers and interventions were derived from the analysis: food security governance involvement, input resource management, output management, information sharing, income, and technology. The result identifies the potential that quality management has on the mediating effect towards sustainable food security, through which a conceptual model for sustainable food security in the FSC was thus developed. It is deduced that mapping and categorizing the drivers and intervention of sustainable food securities could help deepen the understanding of effective and innovative practices towards food security in the FSC.

Practical Application of Plan–Do–Check–Act Cycle for Quality Improvement of Sustainable Packaging: A Case Study

The research aims to give practical instructions for applying Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) cycle in a packaging process. Eco-friendly, recycled material and a new packaging method for quality improvement and cost efficiency of heavily fragile product packaging are studied in this paper. A case study was conducted at GPEM laboratory, Vietnamese German University, Vietnam. In this case study, the current packaging style with Styrofoam material was analyzed and replaced by new packaging material and methods after applying the PDCA cycle for continuous quality improvement. Targets of the research were to find the new packaging method using friendly environment materials, to improve the quality, and to reduce the defect ratio due to packaging for fine-stone round surface fountains. Moreover, the extra cost should not be higher than 20% compared with the current packaging cost. The article proposes a simplified way that focuses on the combination of quality tools in the PDCA multiple phases to solve these problems. The quality tools are applied effectively through the PDCA cycle from collecting data, defining, analysis, testing, evaluation, and making decisions. New packaging design was been produced and tested successfully. One hundred percent of new packaging boxes for the mid-weight fountains (under 15 kg) passed the dropping test condition. Nearly 10% of the heavier weight products (above 15 kg) still had some small cracks on their top and bottom due to drop tests. Another PDCA cycle is recommended to continue applying for achieving a thorough solution. The conducted results show that PDCA is an effective method to tackle the damage product issue due to inappropriate packaging material and technique. It also brings good solutions for balancing sustainable packaging improvement and reducing the cost to ensure profit for companies. Besides contributing a guide reference for PDCA deployment, the authors intend to inspire practitioners and researchers to broaden exploration of the PDCA applications for sustainable packaging methodology. The research analysis shows that the PDCA methodology should be applied for defect reduction and quality enhancement in the packaging field. The field currently lacks systematic guidance for continuous improvement.

The Effect of the Perceived Utility of a Management Control System with a Broad Scope on the Use of Food Waste Information and on Financial and Non-Financial Performances in Restaurants

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of the perceived utility of a management control system with a broad scope on the use of food waste information and on financial and non-financial performances in restaurants. To collect data, a questionnaire was administered in Brazilian restaurants. Data from 206 restaurants were analysed with structural equation modelling, which was performed with SmartPLS software. The results reveal that a management control system of broad scope, which includes non-financial information, is oriented towards the future, and contains an external and long-term focus, assists in the use of information on food waste. In addition, the use of information about food waste by managers improves the financial and non-financial performance of restaurants. The study contributes to the literature by showing that broader information systems are effective in managing food waste, and they can also contribute to improving performance.

Compaction Process as a Concept of Press-Cake Production from Organic Waste

As a result of agri-food production large amounts of organic waste are created in the form of press cakes. Until now, they were mainly used as animal fodder and also utilized for biofuels production. No other way usage has been found yet. A large quantity of these by-products is usually discarded in open areas, which leads to potentially serious environmental problems. The rich chemical composition of these waste products makes it possible to use them for producing other food products valuable for consumers. Based on the test results obtained, it can be stated that moisture content of press cakes is varied and depends on the input material. However, appropriately composed mixtures of various waste products and a properly conducted compaction process allows for obtaining a new product with functional properties. In addition, application of honey powder and starch tablet coating creates a product of resistant to compression and cutting. Results seem to have commercial importance, as they demonstrate that properly processed by-products can be used in food preparations as dietary supplements.

Antimicrobial Activity of Lignin and Lignin-Derived Cellulose and Chitosan Composites Against Selected Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms

The antiradical and antimicrobial activity of lignin and lignin-based films are both of great interest for applications such as food packaging additives. The polyphenolic structure of lignin in addition to the presence of O-containing functional groups is potentially responsible for these activities. This study used DPPH assays to discuss the antiradical activity of HPMC/lignin and HPMC/lignin/chitosan films. The scavenging activity (SA) of both binary (HPMC/lignin) and ternary (HPMC/lignin/chitosan) systems was affected by the percentage of the added lignin: the 5% addition showed the highest activity and the 30% addition had the lowest. Both scavenging activity and antimicrobial activity are dependent on the biomass source showing the following trend: organosolv of softwood > kraft of softwood > organosolv of grass. Testing the antimicrobial activities of lignins and lignin-containing films showed high antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria at 35 °C and at low temperatures (0-7 °C). Purification of kraft lignin has a negative effect on the antimicrobial activity while storage has positive effect. The lignin release in the produced films affected the activity positively and the chitosan addition enhances the activity even more for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Testing the films against spoilage bacteria that grow at low temperatures revealed the activity of the 30% addition on HPMC/L1 film against both B. thermosphacta and P. fluorescens while L5 was active only against B. thermosphacta. In HPMC/lignin/chitosan films, the 5% addition exhibited activity against both B. thermosphacta and P. fluorescens.

Applying the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle to Reduce the Defects in the Manufacturing Industry. A Case Study

Defects are considered as one of the wastes in manufacturing systems that negatively affect the delivery times, cost and quality of products leading to manufacturing companies facing a critical situation with the customers and to not comply with the IPC-A-610E standard for the acceptability of electronic components. This is the case is a manufacturing company located in Tijuana, Mexico. Due to an increasing demand on the products manufactured by this company, several defects have been detected in the welding process of electronic boards, as well as in the components named Thru-Holes. It is for this reason that this paper presents a lean manufacturing application case study. The objective of this research is to reduce at least 20% the defects that are generated during the welding process. In addition, it is intended to increase 20% the capacity of three double production lines where electronic boards are processed. As method, the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, is applied. The Pareto charts and the flowchart are used as support tools. As results, defects decreased 65%, 79%, and 77% in three analyzed product models. As conclusion, the PDCA cycle, the Pareto charts, and the flowchart are excellent quality tools that help to decrease the number of defective components.