From Quantifying to Managing Food Loss in the Agri-Food Industry Supply Chain

Abstract

The significant contradiction of food waste and food insecurity that preoccupies society today is growing increasingly important. It is estimated that one-third of all food produced globally is either lost or wasted. In a world where almost one billion people are hungry, reducing food loss and waste is critical to creating a world with zero hunger and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. This study analyses how scientific research concerning food loss has evolved in recent years, with a focus on the supply chain of agri-food companies. Bibliometric techniques were used to analyse a sample of 181 publications from journals indexed in the Web of Science from 2012 to 2021. The obtained results show a growing interest in this topic and a clear concern for the management and prevention of food loss. An important conclusion is that a holistic approach from a supply chain perspective is needed to devise food loss reduction strategies focusing future lines of research on stakeholder collaboration, the circular economy and related regulatory changes. The study has implications for entrepreneurs and decisionmakers due to the effect that a reduction in food loss has on business strategies, as well as for policymakers in order to create updated food safety and quality regulations.

Mapping the Greek Wine Supply Chain: A Proposed Research Framework

“…Stakeholders hold a significant position in every supply chain and their involvement, specifically in the complicated food supply chain and their is essential. Previous studies suggest their pivotal role in sharing information towards food safety [50] and better performance of the food chain [36], in establishing new traceability systems and effective approaches such as consumer-centricity [51] and promoting sustainability and circular economy [52]. Supply chain re-configurations based on a better knowledge of the stakeholders' role and interdependencies is the essence of every research framework.…”