P L A N T & S E C U R I T Y T E C H N O L O GY
Digitalisation reduces global food waste The scale of the global food waste problem is staggering. It is reported that up to 1.6 billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted every year. This equates to a total value of US$1.2 trillion wiped from the supply chain.
E
mbracing technology and digitalising the food supply chain can reduce food waste and loss. It
can also assist in ensuring there are enough resources to sustainably support the future global population.
INNOVATION TO REDUCE WASTE Most food waste occurs during production and consumption. The former is more common within developing countries, while the latter is more pronounced in developed countries with waste being caused by retailers and consumers. The Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) indicates the amount of food waste created in the supply chain is set to rise by 1.9 per cent from 2015 to 2030. You may think this is a small rise but put into perspective with the current 1.6 billion tonnes wasted every year, this figure will increase by 30.4 million tonnes. To combat this increase in waste, food
Allowing all stakeholders within the supply chain access to key data shared
USING INNOVATION TO IMPROVE CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE
across integrated systems, processes can
The supply chain can also use digitalisation
supply chains need digital transformation.
be optimised further along the chain to
From production and processing to retailers,
maximise how the product is handled. A
systematic changes are required in food
bad batch of apples, for example, with a
supply chain management.
high percentage of internal browning would require a piece of specific equipment set
UTILISING IOT IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN
up and would need to be fine-tuned to
Better communication across the supply
from the apples. It is believed having this
chain will reduce the amount of food waste
connectivity could save the supply chain up
produced. Each aspect of the supply chain
to US$60 billion in waste.
must be in constant contact to ensure resources are managed efficiently. The Internet of Things (IoT) can support
ensure the maximum value can be extracted
Through pre-warning of information regarding a batch of produce, farmers can optimise yields by reducing the risk of waste,
and improve supply chain efficiencies.
and stakeholders can also plan accordingly
Based on interconnected and interrelated
to prevent the cause of waste.
systems and processes, IoT allows each
The ability to share data through IoT
aspect of the food industry to have access
can help reduce waste from a consumer
to key data around the supply, production
standpoint. Retailers could use the real-time
and management of produce. Without the
data in stores to showcase when produce was
wider adoption of IoT, levels of food waste
harvested or picked and offer insights into
could increase by 50 to 90 per cent as a
the projected "sell-by date". This can educate
result of several combined factors, such as
consumers further on how long they can
the increase in food demand due to the ever-
eat the produce, helping reduce food waste
growing population.
through the implementation of technology.
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Food Review | February 2020
to help improve the infrastructure it currently has in place. Cold chain plays a huge role in the food industry creating waste, mainly due to poor infrastructure. In India, US$14 billion is lost every year through poor cold chain facilities. Implementing innovative and efficient systems can go a long way in addressing the food waste issue – particularly in developing markets. Deploying advanced cold chain solutions within the emerging markets, which share the data across the supply chain through IoT, it could prevent large-scale food loss and waste. The conditions can also change in cold storage, and temperature affects many sorting technologies, so the ability to link cold storage sensors to packing equipment can enhance performance. This is nonexistent in many emerging markets, creating poor food storage and transportation conditions early in the value chain that leads to large-scale food loss. Deploying more advanced supply
