Abstract

Food waste is not only a financial and environmental issue but also a social problem. Billions of tons of food are thrown away while millions of people go hungry worldwide and it is costing billions of dollars in losses for businesses in the industry and causing harmful effects to the environment. The meal-kit industry is pushing to eliminate food waste through their business strategy of providing pre-portioned and pre-packed meals to their customers and by shortening the food supply chain using the farm-to-table method. This research examined the status of food waste in their production warehouses and reviewed the food waste management practices within the industry using Root cause analysis tools, supported by industry and internet research. Data gathered shows that there is indeed food wastage occurring within these meal-kit production warehouses. The main factors identified which were contributing to food waste include the low quality of products and ingredients being packed, problems with packaging and labelling, errors by packing employees, and poor inventory management. The research recommends several measures and steps to resolve the identified problems, including the repairing and upgrading of the equipment in the meal-kit production warehouse, the introduction of training for employees regarding food rejections and quality control as well as review of the non-comliant suppliers. In addition, rejected food can be donated to employees or charity organisations, in accordance with the Food Act 2014, thereby creating a new sustainable business strategy that uses imperfect or slightly damaged products, that they can market at a lower price range.

Keywords:
food waste, waste management, meal-kit industry, food warehouse practices, warehouse management, inventory management

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