Periodic Reporting for period 3 - LOWINFOOD (Multi-actor design of low-waste food value chains through the demonstration of innovative solutions to reduce food loss and waste)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-11-01 al 2025-02-28
Food loss and waste represent a main challenge for the sustainability of food systems, entailing significant economic and environmental impacts, as well as hindering food security. Reducing food loss and waste is a target (SDG 12.6) of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as a pillar of the EU Farm-to-Fork strategy.
The LOWINFOOD project is committed to reduce food loss and waste by co-designing, together with actors of the food chain, low-waste value chains through the demonstration of a portfolio of innovations against food loss and waste in real value chains. LOWINFOOD innovations are selected among promising solutions that, during the project, are implemented and evaluated, to assess the contribution they can provide in food loss and waste prevention and reduction. Such evidence will allow, by the end of the project, the upscale and replication of these innovations.
The objectives of the project can be summarised as follows:
1. To demonstrate and validate innovative solutions for the reduction of food loss and waste in real food value chains;
2. To assess the impact of these innovations, in terms of quantity of food loss and waste produced and socio-economic and environmental implications;
3. To increase the capacity of value chain actors to collaborate in the evaluation of the innovations, and in the design of low waste chains;
4. To promote dissemination and market replication of the innovations, to push them closer to market.
At the end of the project, all these objectives have been achieved. The demosntration of 14 innovations against food loss and waste in different real food supply chain setting is concluded. Data from the demonstration sites are collected and elaborated to feed the evaluation of the innovations in terms of efficacy in reducing food loss and waste, socio-economic impact and environmental impact. A multi-actor approach has been implemented to perform these activities, assuring the involvement of all the actors the the definition of the methodological framework, the demonstration, the data collection and the interpretation of the evaluation results. Communication and dissemination activities have been carried out alla along the project to showcase the potential of the LOWINFOOD innovations, and to support their access to new markets and customers.
The LOWINFOOD project is committed to reduce food loss and waste by co-designing, together with actors of the food chain, low-waste value chains through the demonstration of a portfolio of innovations against food loss and waste in real value chains. LOWINFOOD innovations are selected among promising solutions that, during the project, are implemented and evaluated, to assess the contribution they can provide in food loss and waste prevention and reduction. Such evidence will allow, by the end of the project, the upscale and replication of these innovations.
The objectives of the project can be summarised as follows:
1. To demonstrate and validate innovative solutions for the reduction of food loss and waste in real food value chains;
2. To assess the impact of these innovations, in terms of quantity of food loss and waste produced and socio-economic and environmental implications;
3. To increase the capacity of value chain actors to collaborate in the evaluation of the innovations, and in the design of low waste chains;
4. To promote dissemination and market replication of the innovations, to push them closer to market.
At the end of the project, all these objectives have been achieved. The demosntration of 14 innovations against food loss and waste in different real food supply chain setting is concluded. Data from the demonstration sites are collected and elaborated to feed the evaluation of the innovations in terms of efficacy in reducing food loss and waste, socio-economic impact and environmental impact. A multi-actor approach has been implemented to perform these activities, assuring the involvement of all the actors the the definition of the methodological framework, the demonstration, the data collection and the interpretation of the evaluation results. Communication and dissemination activities have been carried out alla along the project to showcase the potential of the LOWINFOOD innovations, and to support their access to new markets and customers.
LOWINFOOD activities started on 1st November 2020 and ended in February 2025. LOWINFOOD includes a set of 15 “innovation tasks”, each of which focus on the demonstration of one innovation against food loss and waste in a specific context/food value chain (fruits&vegetables, bakery sector, fish, consumption). The evidence resulting from the demonstrations feeds the impact evaluation, along the methodology established by the actors of the project. These demonstrations started during the second year of the project and they were finalised by the fourth year of activity. After a pre-test, each innovation underwent implementation in the real environment of the demonstration, by integrating technological solutions against food loss and waste into the everyday practice of the actors involved, by favouring stakeholder dialogue and educational activities in the social innovations, and by putting actors together to implement new management and institutional practices, in the case of organisational solutions. during the demonstrations, there was a continuous interaction between innovators, food chain actors (companies or consumers) and academic partners, with the aim to monitor the advancement of the demonstration and the collection of the data needed to perform the evaluation of the innovations. Data was collected during the demonstration to feed the evaluation of the innovations, in terms of efficacy in reducgin food loss and waste, socio-economic impact and environmental impact. All the actors involved in the demonstrations collaborated to the data collection with a multi-actor approach. Data was collected before the start of the demonstration (baseline) and during the implementation of the innovations. The results of the evaluation served to assess the effects of the implementation of the innovations, as well as to support the business and innovators involved in the project to better define the conditions and situations that can improve the performance of the innovation.
The project produced 40 reports and other tangible results which are publicly available to support further research and knowledge transfer to stakeholders.
All along the project, the LOWINFOOD consortium was very active with communication and dissemination. During and after the demonstration, a continuous communication flow was kept active between the partners involved in the innovation tasks and the communication partner, in order to share pictures and videos of the demonstration, and to anticipate the qualitative results obtained. This allowed to achieve and exceed the target KPIs set for communication; some examples to this regard: 58 videos produced, with a total of +35,000 views during the lifetime of the project, 25 Practice Abstracts , almost 900 followers on LinedIn, +10,000 users of the website, 115 press hits generated on external media. For the scientific dissemination, 10 scientific articles have been published in peer review scientific journals by the end of the project, and more under review or in preparation. The final results of the project were showcased at the Final Project Meeting of LOWINFOOD, which took place in Archanes, Creta, on 24th September 2024, followed by the final LOWINFOOD conference on the 25th and 26th September 2024. This conference was integrated in RETASTE, a major international conference of food loss and waste, thus allowing to present LOWINFOOD results in front of a wide expert audience of researchers and stakeholders interested in food loss and waste reduction.
The project produced 40 reports and other tangible results which are publicly available to support further research and knowledge transfer to stakeholders.
All along the project, the LOWINFOOD consortium was very active with communication and dissemination. During and after the demonstration, a continuous communication flow was kept active between the partners involved in the innovation tasks and the communication partner, in order to share pictures and videos of the demonstration, and to anticipate the qualitative results obtained. This allowed to achieve and exceed the target KPIs set for communication; some examples to this regard: 58 videos produced, with a total of +35,000 views during the lifetime of the project, 25 Practice Abstracts , almost 900 followers on LinedIn, +10,000 users of the website, 115 press hits generated on external media. For the scientific dissemination, 10 scientific articles have been published in peer review scientific journals by the end of the project, and more under review or in preparation. The final results of the project were showcased at the Final Project Meeting of LOWINFOOD, which took place in Archanes, Creta, on 24th September 2024, followed by the final LOWINFOOD conference on the 25th and 26th September 2024. This conference was integrated in RETASTE, a major international conference of food loss and waste, thus allowing to present LOWINFOOD results in front of a wide expert audience of researchers and stakeholders interested in food loss and waste reduction.
One key progress of LOWINFOOD concerns the completion of the demonstrations of 14 innovations against food loss and waste, in real settings of the food supply chain. This allowed to continuously improve the innovations and to collect the data that have been used to assess the efficacy of the innovations in reducing food loss and waste, the socio-economic and environmental impacts.
The results of the communication and dissemination activities have been very good, the network of the project and the followers of the project increase, and so does the wider societal impact that the project can make. Moreover, the involvement of food chain actors in all phases of the demonstration, throughout the phases of the project: the definition of the methodology at the beginning of the project, the practical demonstrations, the collection of data, as well as in the interpretetion of this data and the assessment of the innovations. This multi-acotr approach assures that a wide impact is also achieved among food supply chain actors.
The results of the communication and dissemination activities have been very good, the network of the project and the followers of the project increase, and so does the wider societal impact that the project can make. Moreover, the involvement of food chain actors in all phases of the demonstration, throughout the phases of the project: the definition of the methodology at the beginning of the project, the practical demonstrations, the collection of data, as well as in the interpretetion of this data and the assessment of the innovations. This multi-acotr approach assures that a wide impact is also achieved among food supply chain actors.