Analysis and models for the reduction of waste in organized large-scale retail distribution: “The tomato”

Food waste is one of the major global paradoxes of our century and raises quite a few questions from the economic and social point of view. The causes of food loss and waste are many and differ according to the various phases of the agro-food chain. The problem of food waste prompted the European Parliament to proclaim in 2014 “the European Year against Food Waste” and to adopt a resolution that would lead to a 50% reduction in waste by 2025. This work proposes possible Corrective actions, to be adopted by the Organized Large-Scale Retail Distribution, aimed at consumers, to reach the goal of reducing food waste. Therefore, the objective of the study is to identify and analyse the loss and waste within the complex agri-food chain, by analysing the tomato chain in the Organized Large-Scale Retail Distribution.