IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v122y2017icp83-93.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344917300411
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.02.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brancoli, Pedro & Rousta, Kamran & Bolton, Kim, 2017. "Life cycle assessment of supermarket food waste," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 39-46.
    2. Mottner, Sandra & Smith, Steve, 2009. "Wal-Mart: Supplier performance and market power," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(5), pages 535-541, May.
    3. Thyberg, Krista L. & Tonjes, David J., 2016. "Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 110-123.
    4. Cicatiello, Clara & Franco, Silvio & Pancino, Barbara & Blasi, Emanuele, 2016. "The value of food waste: An exploratory study on retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 96-104.
    5. Buzby, Jean C. & Hyman, Jeffrey, 2012. "Total and per capita value of food loss in the United States," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 561-570.
    6. Garrone, Paola & Melacini, Marco & Perego, Alessandro, 2014. "Opening the black box of food waste reduction," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 129-139.
    7. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 23-32.
    8. Vandermeersch, T. & Alvarenga, R.A.F. & Ragaert, P. & Dewulf, J., 2014. "Environmental sustainability assessment of food waste valorization options," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 57-64.
    9. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 23-32, January.
    10. Young, William & Russell, Sally V. & Robinson, Cheryl A. & Barkemeyer, Ralf, 2017. "Can social media be a tool for reducing consumers’ food waste? A behaviour change experiment by a UK retailer," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PB), pages 195-203.
    11. Eriksson, Mattias & Strid, Ingrid & Hansson, Per-Anders, 2012. "Food losses in six Swedish retail stores: Wastage of fruit and vegetables in relation to quantities delivered," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 14-20.
    12. Mena, Carlos & Adenso-Diaz, B. & Yurt, Oznur, 2011. "The causes of food waste in the supplier–retailer interface: Evidences from the UK and Spain," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 55(6), pages 648-658.
    13. Ola Eriksson, 2017. "Energy and Waste Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-7, July.
    14. Scholz, Katharina & Eriksson, Mattias & Strid, Ingrid, 2015. "Carbon footprint of supermarket food waste," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 56-65.
    15. Eriksson, Mattias & Strid, Ingrid & Hansson, Per-Anders, 2014. "Waste of organic and conventional meat and dairy products—A case study from Swedish retail," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 44-52.
    16. Priefer, Carmen & Jörissen, Juliane & Bräutigam, Klaus-Rainer, 2016. "Food waste prevention in Europe – A cause-driven approach to identify the most relevant leverage points for action," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 155-165.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Trebbin, Anika & Herzberg, Ronja & Schneider, Felicitas, 2023. "Lebensmittelverluste bei Obst und Gemüse – die Rolle von Qualitätsanforderungen und Unternehmenspraktiken des Lebensmitteleinzelhandels," Thünen Working Paper 334338, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    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. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. EiÄ aitÄ—, Ovidija & Baležentis, Tomas & RibaÅ¡auskienÄ—, Erika & MorkÅ«nas, Mangirdas & MelnikienÄ—, Rasa & Å treimikienÄ—, Dalia, 2022. "Food waste in the retail sector: A survey-based evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Mario dos Santos Bulhões & Maria da Conceição Pereira da Fonseca & Darlan Azevedo Pereira & Márcio A. F. Martins, 2023. "Evaluation of Waste in Food Services: A Structural Equation Analysis Using Behavioral and Operational Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-29, May.
    4. Effie Papargyropoulou & Julia K. Steinberger & Nigel Wright & Rodrigo Lozano & Rory Padfield & Zaini Ujang, 2019. "Patterns and Causes of Food Waste in the Hospitality and Food Service Sector: Food Waste Prevention Insights from Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-21, October.
    5. Garcia-Herrero, I. & Hoehn, D. & Margallo, M. & Laso, J. & Bala, A. & Batlle-Bayer, L. & Fullana, P. & Vazquez-Rowe, I. & Gonzalez, M.J. & Durá, M.J. & Sarabia, C. & Abajas, R. & Amo-Setien, F.J. & Qu, 2018. "On the estimation of potential food waste reduction to support sustainable production and consumption policies," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 24-38.
    6. Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2021. "Does dietary knowledge affect household food waste in the developing economy of China?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Papargyropoulou, Effie & Fearnyough, Kate & Spring, Charlotte & Antal, Lucy, 2022. "The future of surplus food redistribution in the UK: Reimagining a ‘win-win’ scenario," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    8. Scholz, Katharina & Eriksson, Mattias & Strid, Ingrid, 2015. "Carbon footprint of supermarket food waste," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 56-65.
    9. de Souza, Michele & Pereira, Giancarlo Medeiros & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Trento, Luiz Reni & Borchardt, Miriam & Zvirtes, Leandro, 2021. "A digitally enabled circular economy for mitigating food waste: Understanding innovative marketing strategies in the context of an emerging economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    10. Danilo Bertoni & Daniele Cavicchioli & Franco Donzelli & Giovanni Ferrazzi & Dario G. Frisio & Roberto Pretolani & Elena Claire Ricci & Vera Ventura, 2018. "Recent Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research in the Field of Sustainable Development," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica & de Hooge, Ilona E. & Almli, Valérie L., 2021. "My style, my food, my waste! Consumer food waste-related lifestyle segments," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    12. 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.
    13. Patrícia Guarnieri & Raiane C. C. de Aguiar & Karim M. Thomé & Eluiza Alberto de Morais Watanabe, 2021. "The Role of Logistics in Food Waste Reduction in Wholesalers and Small Retailers of Fruits and Vegetables: A Multiple Case Study," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-15, November.
    14. Mattias Eriksson & Christopher Malefors & Pauline Bergström & Emelie Eriksson & Christine Persson Osowski, 2020. "Quantities and Quantification Methodologies of Food Waste in Swedish Hospitals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-12, April.
    15. Mohammad Al-Tamimi & John De-Clerk Azure & Ramakrishnan Ramanathan, 2023. "Corporate Reporting on Food Waste by UK Seafood Companies: Literature Review and an Assessment of Current Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    16. Beullens, Patrick & Ghiami, Yousef, 2022. "Waste reduction in the supply chain of a deteriorating food item – Impact of supply structure on retailer performance," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(3), pages 1017-1034.
    17. Ludovica Principato & Alessio Leo & Giovanni Mattia & Carlo Alberto Pratesi, 2021. "The next step in sustainable dining: the restaurant food waste map for the management of food waste," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 189-207, September.
    18. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2018. "Food waste in the sharing economy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 109-123.
    19. Valeria De Laurentiis & Dexter V.L. Hunt & Christopher D.F. Rogers, 2016. "Overcoming Food Security Challenges within an Energy/Water/Food Nexus (EWFN) Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-23, January.
    20. Massimiliano Cerciello & Massimiliano Agovino & Antonio Garofalo, 2019. "Estimating urban food waste at the local level: are good practices in food consumption persistent?," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(3), pages 863-886, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:122:y:2017:i:c:p:83-93. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.