Food waste from organic produce at Company x

This study involves the subjects of the food waste, organic produce and the fresh produce industry. Food waste is a topic that deserves everyone’s attention. Food is a human necessity but the sources of it are limited. Much of the produce that is grown for food ends up lost along the supply chain. The measures we take today greatly affect the food supplies of future generations. Should we choose to cut down in food waste, we would need to take various measures that concern the suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, decisions makers and consumers alike. However, the matter is not straightforward and just a question of attitude as even defining food waste proves challenging. This thesis project concentrated on organic produce wasted at Company x and the aim was to find out the reasons behind the waste and possible prevention methods for it. The study considered the company records from the years 2015 to 2017, and staff interviews as well as empirical research of the industry in general to establish a wholesome picture of the situation. The key findings of this project concern the major organic waste product groups at Company x, the recording of food waste at the company and inventory management methods. The records showed that although the waste of all produce doubled from the year 2015 to 2016, the share of the organic produce stayed the same. In both years, 14% of the total waste was from organic produce (in comparison to conventional) but only 11% of profits were from organics. Therefore, waste from organics is slightly more than profits from them. The reason is likely a low turnover in combination with short shelf-life and not the organic label intrinsically. The project also found that regarding the produce discarded after arrival, half of the waste is discarded for reasons such as pre-order product cancellations, best-before dates and take-back agreements, which are mostly avoidable. A new Anomaly table for recording the reason, parties and quantities of produce wasted after arrival was suggested as well as inventory management methods based on supply chain wide transparency and co-operation