FOOD WASTE AND FOOD LOSS IN THE RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN

The food supply chain consists of five phases: production, storage and handling, processing and packaging, distribution on the market, and final consumption. Appropriate conditions need to be provided at each stage of the supply chain to reduce food losses and food waste. A fundamental transformation of the global food system is needed in order to tackle food waste and food loss. The growing attention to food loss and waste is reflected in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production (UN SDG, 2015,) and food loss and food waste are highlighted in the European Green Deal (2019) and Farm to Fork Strategy. This paper aims to determine the reasons for the generation of food waste in the retail supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to identify and provide the current status of the food waste and food loss research in the retail supply chain, based on the analysis of the available secondary literature.