Abstract
Food loss and waste is relevant for all stages of a food supply chain. Methodological and empirical solutions are needed to properly quantify these losses. The present paper embarks on the quantification of food loss in the Lithuanian food processing sector. This issue has not received substantial coverage in the literature yet, even
though the transition economies face serious food losses due to malfunctioning markets and limited understanding of the issue of food loss and waste in general. In this paper, by exploiting the questionnaire survey, the food loss rates in the major sub-sectors of the Lithuanian food industry are assessed and the root causes behind
food loss are identified. The results are then extrapolated to provide insights into the extent of food loss in the Lithuanian food industry as a whole. The results suggest that an estimated 10.9 thousand tonnes of food, or 4 kg per capita, may be lost at the processing level each year in the country. Issues related to processing operations as
well as product non-compliance with commercial standards appear as the underlying causes for food loss.
Eičaitė, O.; Baležentis, T.; Ribašauskienė, E.; Morkūnas, M.; Melnikienė, R.; Štreimikienė, D. 2023. Exploring food loss in the food industry: A survey-based approach for Lithuania. Journal of cleaner production : Elsevier. ISSN 0959-6526. eISSN 1879-1786. 399, 136668, p. 1–13. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136668. [Scopus; Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science)].