Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Richter, Beate
• Bokelmann, Wolfgang

Titel

Approaches of the German food industry for addressing the issue of food losses

Ist Teil von

• Waste management (Elmsford), 2016-02, Vol.48, p.423-429

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2016

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •It is not widely known about the consideration of the topic food losses in the food industry.•The paper addresses the treatment of the issue food losses in manufacturing industries.•The topic of food losses is of high relevance in the food industry.•In future food losses should be minimized in manufacturing companies. In the food industry the subject of food losses is of great importance due to economic balance and an efficient application of resources as well as the development of an efficient food chain system. This paper presents the explorative results of a quantitative survey of leading companies of the German food industry to evaluate the relevance and handling of this issue. The investigation reveals that the topic food losses have a high significance in the food industry which will probably increase in future. A sample breakdown by branches indicates that the issue has the highest relevance for companies in the confectionery industry. These companies as well as those in the meat and fish industry want to consider the subject prospectively more powerful in their companies. Across the food industry, there is no communication to consumers of the efforts concerning food losses. And companies in the confectionery industry and in the fruit and vegetable industry rather want to engage more powerful in this topic if consumers’ interest increases. But in order to minimize food losses at all stages along the supply chain, communication and collaboration at all stages is essential, especially the communication to consumers. Thus, it has to be verified whether a suitable communication can lead to advantages in competition and become an important issue for companies to differentiate from competitors.