The causes of food waste in the supplier–retailer interface: Evidences from the UK and Spain

Mena, Carlos; Adenso‐Díaz, Belarmino; Yurt, Öznur

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.09.006

Cited by 389 publications

(390 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The case study showed similar previous considerations. Donations other than from the EU programs come mainly from private companies belonging to the food sector, as demonstrated in other studies [5,57]. This fact gives relevance to the very important task of awareness and the need to intensify this way of acting.…”

Section: Practice Of Spanish Food Banksmentioning

confidence: 76%

Adapting Nonprofit Resources to New Social Demands: The Food Banks in Spain

Coque

González-Torre

2017

Sustainability

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Food banks make up an increasing phenomenon of nonprofit organizations answering to new social needs related to the global socioeconomic crisis. In order to explore if they are suitably adapting to their environments in Spain, one of the countries most seriously affected by the crisis in South Europe, this work assumes a hybrid qualitative-quantitative structure composed of an exploratory case study based on semi-structured interviews followed by a survey addressed to all the Spanish food banks. Much of the academic literature has concerned the appropriateness of food banks as a delivery mechanism in the context of welfare state withdrawal. This paper takes this in a different direction by examining Spanish food banks from an organizational management point of view. Wary of concerns about the institutionalization of food charity, on the one hand, and recognizing the escalating daily reliance on food banks, on the other, this paper seeks to address potential technical supply problems and challenges food banks face and open debate about the organizational networks of food banks more generally. The results show nonprofit entities based on a voluntary workforce who run supply chains in order to join both social and business targets. Their situation, performance, resources, mutual relationships and the links with other entities are described, paying special attention to the changes induced by the latest contextual changes. In short, food banks are efficiently organized and well established in their territories as a coherent social movement, although they should improve in their strategic view, coordination, resources and sources of these, to satisfy more adequately their increasingly complex demands.

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Section: Practice Of Spanish Food Banksmentioning

confidence: 76%

Adapting Nonprofit Resources to New Social Demands: The Food Banks in Spain

Coque

González-Torre

2017

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) Food Wastage Footprint study (cited in [3]), we waste roughly one-third of the food produced for human consumption, which amounts to over 1.3 billion tons a year globally. A sustainable food system should be based on resource use efficiency [4] in order to minimise its impact on the environment [5,6] and of course, waste has a crucial role to play here. Reducing food waste can represent part of the solution to food security and environmental challenges, namely the need to feed more people while making the food value chain more environmentally sustainable and resilient [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a More Sustainable Food Supply Chain: Opening up Invisible Waste in Food Service

2016

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Future challenges to the global food supply chain are complex. In order to embrace sustainability, companies should change their management practices towards more efficient resource use. Food waste being a misuse of resources, we identify its causes and possible ways of minimising it. To achieve this goal, we conducted explorative research with qualitative and quantitative data through in-depth semi-structured interviews and an open questionnaire with top Spanish food service companies. Results show that most businesses mainly tend to minimise food waste according to economic criteria, without taking into account the social, ethical or environmental factors. As a consequence, just "visible" food waste that has an economic impact on the results is minimised. Nevertheless, visibility of real waste is often low. At the same time, awareness of (and therefore initiatives to reduce) food waste that does not directly affect a firm's profit can be increased through multi-stakeholder collaboration. Opportunities for reducing food waste therefore arise from increasing the visibility of food that is discarded as well as addressing plate waste. We identify best practices that could lead to a reduction of the amount of food waste generated in the out of home channel in Spain.

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“…The loss begins at the farm and continues throughout the food supply chain [2,3]. Fruits and vegetables are delicate products that are subjected to a number of natural and physical sources of deterioration during the marketing process that leads to food loss [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. The high loss levels reported (typically~35%) are serious threats to food security and the long-term economic sustainability of the food supply chain for present and future generations [1,[11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horticultural Loss Generated by Wholesalers: A Case Study of the Canning Vale Fruit and Vegetable Markets in Western Australia

et al. 2017

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In today's economic climate, businesses need to efficiently manage their finite resources to maintain long-term sustainable growth, productivity, and profits. However, food loss produces large unacceptable economic losses, environmental degradation, and impacts on humanity globally. Its cost in Australia is estimated to be around AUS$8 billion each year, but knowledge of its extent within the food value chain from farm to fork is very limited. The present study examines food loss by wholesalers. A survey questionnaire was prepared and distributed; 35 wholesalers and processors replied and their responses to 10 targeted questions on produce volumes, amounts handled, reasons for food loss, and innovations applied or being considered to reduce and utilize food loss were analyzed. Reported food loss was estimated to be 180 kg per week per primary wholesaler and 30 kg per secondary wholesaler, or around 286 tonnes per year. Participants ranked "over supply" and "no market demand" as the main causes for food loss. The study found that improving grading guidelines has the potential to significantly reduce food loss levels and improve profit margins.

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The causes of food waste in the supplier–retailer interface: Evidences from the UK and Spain

Cited by 389 publications

References 14 publications

Adapting Nonprofit Resources to New Social Demands: The Food Banks in Spain

Adapting Nonprofit Resources to New Social Demands: The Food Banks in Spain

Towards a More Sustainable Food Supply Chain: Opening up Invisible Waste in Food Service

Horticultural Loss Generated by Wholesalers: A Case Study of the Canning Vale Fruit and Vegetable Markets in Western Australia

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