Food Loss and Waste Management in the U.S. Frozen Fruits and Vegetables Supply Chain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.3560Keywords:
Frozen Fruits and Vegetables, Supply Chain, Loss and Waste Management, Sustainability, Environmental and Economic BenefitsAbstract
Frozen fruits and vegetables (FrFV) are valued for their convenience and longer shelf life compared to fresh produce. While consumers and retailers discard far less FrFV than fresh ones, significant food loss and waste (LW) still occurs at various stages of the supply chain (SC). This review examines existing food LW management strategies’ applicability, scalability, and estimated benefits when implemented in the U.S. FrFV SC. Despite the lack of LW management recommendations specific for FrFV SC stakeholders, best-fit strategies to deal with FrFV LW are recommended by analyzing recent literature, company reports of food LW management projects in other food industries, and food LW data in parallel industries (e.g., frozen foods industry). Strategies to reduce food LW have been proven to create renewable electricity, mitigate CO₂ emissions, lower costs, and be converted into organic fertilizers. The most effective and beneficial solutions to address FrFV LW identified in this review are optimizing manufacturing lines, creating secondary channels for selling imperfect and surplus products, producing value-added products from produce byproducts, and expanding buyer specifications.
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