Food Supply Chain Analysis

A typical process interesting the farmer-retailers relation is the “forecast order”: buyers place an initial order that needs to be delivered at pre-established time. However, quantities initially communicated are approximate: the real order will be placed only later on, when farmers have already harvested much of the crop. Since finding alternative market for the overproduction requires both time and financial resources, the simplest solution for farmers is leaving food on the fields (Stuart, 2009).

For perishable commodities, large amount of waste are attributable to the lack of appropriate infrastructures for harvesting and products handling (FAO, 2013).

3.4.3 Food waste at logistics and transportation level

Logistics and transportation can be major determinants for food losses and waste because of the time span required for food to reach final distributors. Of course, this is particularly evident for perishable food. Among

The layouts and infrastructures of retailers’ stores (e.g. temperature and lighting) directly influence the quality and acceptability of sold food. Highly perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and dairies, represent most of waste occurring inside retailers’ stores. According to recent studies, the losses of food occurring inside stores in the United States represent the 10% of the overall waste in the food supply chain (Buzby et al., 2014).

A lack of adequate protective measures, such as packaging and temperature control, lead to even higher amount of food waste. For example, in developing countries, open markets are very common. Retailers in these markets often wash perishable food to slow down deterioration caused by hot weather or other external conditions. However, this technique may lead to higher food unsafety and later discard from