Reducing waste across the food supply chain
A substantial proportion of food produced around the world never reaches consumers’ stomachs. In fact, according to the UN Environment Programme, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year. One of the key reasons for this is unaddressed supply chain issues. The EU-funded FreshProof project, with the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, offers an innovative solution targeting supply chain inefficiencies. “Our main goal was to develop a systems-based approach to address the inefficiencies in fresh produce supply chains currently responsible for large and unnecessary volumes of food waste,” explains Anastasia Ktenioudaki, MSCA fellow. To this end, FreshProof focused on developing a forecast decision support system to implement a non-fragmented system capable of predicting the remaining shelf life of products as they progress through the supply chain. “This approach will directly support the adoption of a ‘First Expired First Out’ based strategy, whilst also being able to incorporate both pre- and postharvest conditions, which is currently lacking and not considered in existing commercial supply chain systems and food waste reduction strategies,” outlines Ktenioudaki.
A focus on strawberries
FreshProof used strawberries as a model product. The critical factors affecting shelf life and quality of strawberries were identified and factored into the system as critical points of interest. Once identified these steps were then analysed and incorporated into prediction models. “We also quantified the nutritional quality, ‘hidden quality’, loss of strawberries and explored a state-of-the-art hyperspectral camera to investigate the potential of predicting shelf life using hyperspectral imaging technology,” notes Ktenioudaki. The results from the hyperspectral imaging technology trial were encouraging. “Our findings present the potential to establish a tool for quick, non-destructive and accurate shelf life estimation,” adds Ktenioudaki. The use of a portable hyperspectral camera demonstrated the possibility of using images and spectra collected from any given point along the supply chain to predict the remaining shelf life from that point onwards. Such a system could be a turning point in global supply chain management. Another key result of the project was establishing a critical link between preharvest environmental conditions and their effect on shelf life. “Preharvest conditions have been of paramount importance in determining the quality of fresh products, in this case, strawberries. However, they are not incorporated in current commercial supply chain systems. The approach of combining both pre- and postharvest conditions in a single decision support tool provides critical knowledge for supply chain design,” notes Ktenioudaki.
Expanding to other products
“We envisage that other highly perishable fruit and vegetables could be incorporated into the FreshProof platform,” confirms Ktenioudaki. This can help address supply chain inefficiencies at scale, which can reduce preventable food waste and address current food security challenges relating to accessibility and availability of food for the increasing population. As for next steps, Ktenioudaki concludes: “We are building on the skills and competencies acquired during the fellowship to ensure maximum commercial and innovative research and development impact is achieved.” FreshProof has secured further funding to explore the development of common ‘off the shelf’ affordable imaging systems (mobile phones) combined with AI to predict the remaining shelf life of produce.
Keywords
FreshProof, supply chain, shelf life, food waste, strawberries, hyperspectral imaging, forecast decision support system
