An, J., Wang, L., & Lv, X. (2015)

Inroduction

Food loss and waste (FLW) has become a growing concern in developing countries(Chaboud & Moustier, 2020). Reducing food and waste losses is widely regarded as an important way to reduce production costs and increase the efficiency of the food system, improve food security and nutrition, and promote environmental sustainability(Jenkins et al., 2016). In recent decades, numerous studies have been conducted to estimate the amount of food loss in many countries of the world(FAO, 2016). In the United States, estimates indicate that between 30% and 50% of food produced is lost depending on how FLW is determined(Muth et al., 2019).

Food losses can occur at the different stages along the chain. Losses can be quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative food losses mean a decrease in the mass of edible food available for human consumption in various segments of the supply chain. In addition to quantitative losses, food products may also experience quality degradation, resulting in loss of economic and nutritional value. In addition to economic losses, in most cases, deterioration is accompanied by a significant loss of nutritional value and, as such, affects the health and nutritional security of the population(An et al., 2015).

An, J., Wang, L., & Lv, X. (2015). Research on Agri-Food Cold Chain Logistics Management System : Connotation , Structure and Operational Mechanism. December, 894–902.

Chaboud, G., & Moustier, P. (2020). The role of diverse distribution channels in reducing food loss and waste : The case of the Cali tomato supply chain in Colombia. Food Policy, August 2019, 101881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101881

FAO. (2016). Food Loss Analysis: Causes and Solutions. Case studies in the small- scale Agriculture and Fisheries Subsectors. Food Loss Analysis: Causes and Solutions - Case Studies in the Small-Scale Agriculture and Fisheris Subsector, May, 1–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-185X.13220

Jenkins, W., Tucker, M. E., & Grim, J. (2016). Routledge handbook of religion and ecology. In Routledge Handbook of Religion and Ecology. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315764788

Muth, M. K., Birney, C., Cuéllar, A., Finn, S. M., Freeman, M., Galloway, J. N., Gee, I., Gephart, J., Jones, K., Low, L., Meyer, E., Read, Q., Smith, T., Weitz, K., & Zoubek, S. (2019). A systems approach to assessing environmental and economic effects of food loss and waste interventions in the United States. Science of the Total Environment, 685, 1240–1254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.230