Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Quantifying Waste of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables in European Food Supply Chains

Engman, Simon LU and Myrlander, William LU (2025) MTTM10 20251
Packaging Logistics
Abstract
Food waste represents major economic, social and sustainable challenges across the European Union, particularly within fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV). This study aims to quantify the amount of fresh food waste generated post-harvest for five FFV products i.e. avocados, bananas, cucumbers, eggplants and peppers (ABCEPs). This study will analyze and estimate the waste generated across 31 European countries including the European Union as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (EU+). Furthermore, this study aims to estimate the corresponding economic and climate impact from the FFV waste. To achieve this, a top-down macro-level approach was adopted, combining a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) with Coefficient-Based... (More)
Food waste represents major economic, social and sustainable challenges across the European Union, particularly within fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV). This study aims to quantify the amount of fresh food waste generated post-harvest for five FFV products i.e. avocados, bananas, cucumbers, eggplants and peppers (ABCEPs). This study will analyze and estimate the waste generated across 31 European countries including the European Union as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (EU+). Furthermore, this study aims to estimate the corresponding economic and climate impact from the FFV waste. To achieve this, a top-down macro-level approach was adopted, combining a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) with Coefficient-Based Estimations (CBEs) to estimate the waste volumes at the different stages of the food supply chain (FSC) including stages from post-harvest up to consumption. By using publicly available supply utilization accounts (SUAs) from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), EUROSTAT and UN Comtrade, the FFV flows were modeled and adjusted based on product-specific coefficients derived from scientific literature.
The results show that waste patterns vary significantly across countries and supply chain stages. In 2022 the total food waste of from the five FFVs amounted to an estimated 515 thousand tonnes, of which around 60 % stem from households, which corresponds to an economic impact of around 17,7 billion euros and 6,2 million tonnes CO2-equivalents (CO2-eqs) across the EU+. Of this amount, bananas accounted for over 50 % of the total food waste with over 270 thousand tonnes lost. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of robust estimation techniques and the need for FSC stage-specific interventions. While there are limitations regarding the validity of the data, coefficients, and assumptions utilized for the analysis the findings still provide a scalable framework which can support future food waste reduction efforts in line with EU targets and policies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Engman, Simon LU and Myrlander, William LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Kvantifiering av svinn från färska frukter och grönsaker i europeiska försörjningskedjor
course
MTTM10 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Food waste, food supply chains, material flow analysis, coefficient-based estimations
language
English
id
9203284
date added to LUP
2025-06-23 16:15:51
date last changed
2025-06-23 16:15:51
@misc{9203284,
  abstract     = {{Food waste represents major economic, social and sustainable challenges across the European Union, particularly within fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV). This study aims to quantify the amount of fresh food waste generated post-harvest for five FFV products i.e. avocados, bananas, cucumbers, eggplants and peppers (ABCEPs). This study will analyze and estimate the waste generated across 31 European countries including the European Union as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (EU+). Furthermore, this study aims to estimate the corresponding economic and climate impact from the FFV waste. To achieve this, a top-down macro-level approach was adopted, combining a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) with Coefficient-Based Estimations (CBEs) to estimate the waste volumes at the different stages of the food supply chain (FSC) including stages from post-harvest up to consumption. By using publicly available supply utilization accounts (SUAs) from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), EUROSTAT and UN Comtrade, the FFV flows were modeled and adjusted based on product-specific coefficients derived from scientific literature.
The results show that waste patterns vary significantly across countries and supply chain stages. In 2022 the total food waste of from the five FFVs amounted to an estimated 515 thousand tonnes, of which around 60 % stem from households, which corresponds to an economic impact of around 17,7 billion euros and 6,2 million tonnes CO2-equivalents (CO2-eqs) across the EU+. Of this amount, bananas accounted for over 50 % of the total food waste with over 270 thousand tonnes lost. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of robust estimation techniques and the need for FSC stage-specific interventions. While there are limitations regarding the validity of the data, coefficients, and assumptions utilized for the analysis the findings still provide a scalable framework which can support future food waste reduction efforts in line with EU targets and policies.}},
  author       = {{Engman, Simon and Myrlander, William}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Quantifying Waste of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables in European Food Supply Chains}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}