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Take-back agreements in the perspective of food waste generation at the supplier-retailer interface

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  • Eriksson, Mattias
  • Ghosh, Ranjan
  • Mattsson, Lisa
  • Ismatov, Alisher

Abstract

Food waste must be minimised to make food supply chains sustainable. This is especially relevant since food waste valorisation measures, such as energy recovery, have limited possibilities to fully recover the resources invested in food production. However, waste minimisation is costly when it includes new infrastructure or technology. Policy measures, on the other hand, can provide a low-cost option. Food rejection practices in supermarkets, such as take-back agreements (TBA), have long been identified as risk factors for food waste generation at the supplier-retailer interface, but given the relational, and often discreet, nature of these agreements, there is little evidence of their impact. In this study we provide, concrete evidence of different rejection practices. This is done by studying three types of food chains – those for bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, and milk – with different rejection practices in Sweden. Based on a combination of primary company information and stakeholder interviews, we found that a full TBA is in operation for bread. The retailer only pays for bread that is sold and any bread left unsold three days before the best-before date is returned to the supplier. For fresh fruit and vegetables, only goods of ‘inadequate’ quality are returned, but supermarkets have sole rights of determination on quality, posing a risk of categorising unsold fruit and vegetables as inadequate quality and returning them to suppliers. In the case of milk, suppliers take back unsold items, but only for waste management. The trend found in this study was that bread had the highest waste, and the most extensive take-back policy. Fresh fruit and vegetables had medium levels of waste, partly due to unverified rejections, while milk had a very low level of waste combined with an even lower level of rejections. It can be concluded that a food supply chain system where the direct costs of waste management or incentives for waste reduction are separated from the organisation responsible for generating the waste poses a significant risk factor in food waste generation and is therefore a potential hotspot for waste-reducing measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Eriksson, Mattias & Ghosh, Ranjan & Mattsson, Lisa & Ismatov, Alisher, 2017. "Take-back agreements in the perspective of food waste generation at the supplier-retailer interface," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 83-93.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:122:y:2017:i:c:p:83-93
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.02.006
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    2. Sybilla Merian & Sabrina Stöeckli & Klaus Ludwig Fuchs & Martin Natter, 2022. "Buy Three to Waste One? How Real-World Purchase Data Predict Groups of Food Wasters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Efrat Elimelech & Eyal Ert & Yael Parag & Guy Hochman, 2024. "Exploring the Impact of Visual Perception and Taste Experience on Consumers’ Acceptance of Suboptimal Fresh Produce," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Kusumowardani, Niken & Tjahjono, Benny & Lazell, Jordon & Bek, David & Theodorakopoulos, Nicholas & Andrikopoulos, Panagiotis & Priadi, Cindy Rianti, 2022. "A circular capability framework to address food waste and losses in the agri-food supply chain: The antecedents, principles and outcomes of circular economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 17-31.
    5. Pauline Bergström & Christopher Malefors & Ingrid Strid & Ole Jørgen Hanssen & Mattias Eriksson, 2020. "Sustainability Assessment of Food Redistribution Initiatives in Sweden," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-27, March.
    6. Sudhanshu Joshi & Manu Sharma & Banu Y. Ekren & Yigit Kazancoglu & Sunil Luthra & Mukesh Prasad, 2023. "Assessing Supply Chain Innovations for Building Resilient Food Supply Chains: An Emerging Economy Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-21, March.
    7. Fernanda Cortegoso Oliveira Frascareli & Marcelo Furlan & Enzo Barberio Mariano & Daniel Jugend, 2024. "A macro-level circular economy index: theoretical proposal and application in European Union countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 18297-18331, July.
    8. Lisa Mattsson & Helén Williams, 2022. "Avoidance of Supermarket Food Waste—Employees’ Perspective on Causes and Measures to Reduce Fruit and Vegetables Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-18, August.
    9. Cicatiello, Clara & Franco, Silvio & Pancino, Barbara & Blasi, Emanuele & Falasconi, Luca, 2017. "The dark side of retail food waste: Evidences from in-store data," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 273-281.
    10. Trebbin, Anika & Herzberg, Ronja & Schneider, Felicitas, 2023. "Lebensmittelverluste bei Obst und Gemüse - Die Rolle von Qualitätsanforderungen und Unternehmenspraktiken des Lebensmitteleinzelhandels," Thünen Working Papers 202, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.

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