Magnitude, Causes and Scope for Reducing Food Losses in the Baking and Confectionery Industry—A Multi-Method Approach

Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann, Michał Gazdecki, Krystyna Rejman, Sylwia Łaba, Joanna Kobus-Cisowska and Krystian Szczepański
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Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann: Department of Economics and Economy Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Life Sciences (PULS), Wojska Polskiego Str. 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Michał Gazdecki: Department of Economics and Economy Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Life Sciences (PULS), Wojska Polskiego Str. 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Krystyna Rejman: Department of Food Market and Consumer Research, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), Nowoursynowska Str. 159 C, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Sylwia Łaba: Institute of Environmental Protection—National Research Institute (IEP-NRI), Krucza Str. 5/11D, 00-548 Warsaw, Poland
Joanna Kobus-Cisowska: Department of Gastronomy Sciences and Functional Foods, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Poznan University of Life Sciences (PULS), Wojska Polskiego Str. 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Krystian Szczepański: Institute of Environmental Protection—National Research Institute (IEP-NRI), Krucza Str. 5/11D, 00-548 Warsaw, Poland

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: Reducing food wastage is one of the challenges in achieving global food security and transforming current food systems. Since human nutrition is closely dependent on cereal production, research was undertaken aimed at understanding the food losses in the baking and confectionery industry (BCI) in Poland, in particular at determining the volume, reasons and ways of reducing losses, identifying possibly all of the reasons for losses in BCI using the Ishikawa 5M + 1E diagram and determining the level of significance and probability of risk of food losses in the analysed sector. Two research methods were used. Quantitative data were collected using the mass balance method from five businesses that served as case studies. Qualitative data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with 17 industry experts. The companies’ average daily losses ranged from 0.8 to 6.4 tons, representing 9.7 to 14.4% of production volume, including 10.4–13.4% of bread losses and 6.8–24.4% of fresh pastry losses. The highest losses were generated by transport departments and these were exclusively retail returns. Following the Ishikawa concept, 31 primary and 94 secondary reasons for food losses were identified. Using the probability of loss risk, a toolkit for loss prevention and mitigation across all departments within businesses (raw materials magazine, production section, final product magazine and final product transport) and a set of horizontal tools were identified, including specialised training for employees and activities in several areas, e.g., technical status and production technology, organisation and planning, logistics and sales and cooperation with retail. This study, conducted in Poland, offers valuable results for developing programmes and strategies to prevent and manage food losses in BCI. Many of the solutions proposed in both toolkits can bring economic benefits without involving additional high costs.

Keywords: baking and confectionery industry (BCI); companies; bread; bread production; food losses and waste; causes and reduction of food losses; sustainable supply chain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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