Revista Científica Ciencia y Tecnología Vol 24 No 43
http://cienciaytecnologia.uteg.edu.ec
Use of information and communication technologies to reduce food
waste
Uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación para
reducir el desperdicio de alimentos
María Calzada Gento1
macalz01@ucm.es
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6534-909X
José Ignacio Alonso Esteban2
jignacio.alonso@uah.es
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1593-2631
Marta Mesías García3
mmesias@ictan.csic.es
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0905-1587
Recibido: 08/03/2024; Aceptado: 12/062024
ABSTRACT
The food supply chain has shown certain deficiencies regarding food waste control and
prevention, mainly due to overproduction, lack of social awareness and commitment, and
poor coordination between different levels in the food chain. This fact is leading to
multiple environmental problems related to the emission of greenhouse gases, and
economic and social losses. The development of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) in the current digital era (Industry 4.0) contributes to greater
traceability of food products, obtaining safer and higher quality food and sustainable and
highly productive food systems. The use of ICT, together with changes in consumption
habits, waste management, and new government laws, are key to comprehensively
addressing the prevention of food losses and waste. The objective of this work is to carry
out a bibliographical review on the use of ICT as a technological improvement applied in
1 Graduate in Pharmay, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
2 Profesor Ayudante Doctor, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain
3 Científico Titular, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
Calzada, Alonso, Mesías.
Use of information and communication technologies to reduce food waste
the food sector to help solve the problem of waste in all stages of the food chain, "from
farm to fork”.
Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), digital technologies,
artificial intelligence, sustainability, food waste.
RESUMEN
La cadena de suministro de alimentos ha mostrado ciertas deficiencias en cuanto al
control y prevención del desperdicio de alimentos, debido principalmente a la
sobreproducción, la falta de conciencia y compromiso social y la mala coordinación entre
los diferentes niveles de la cadena alimentaria. Este hecho está provocando múltiples
problemas ambientales relacionados con la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero y
pérdidas económicas y sociales. El desarrollo de las Tecnologías de la Información y la
Comunicación (TIC) en la actual era digital (Industria 4.0) contribuye a una mayor
trazabilidad de los productos alimentarios, a la obtención de alimentos más seguros y de
mayor calidad y de sistemas alimentarios sostenibles y altamente productivos. El uso de
las TIC, junto con los cambios en los hábitos de consumo, la gestión de residuos y las
nuevas leyes gubernamentales, son clave para abordar de manera integral la prevención
de las pérdidas y el desperdicio de alimentos. El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una
revisión bibliográfica sobre el uso de las TIC como mejora tecnológica aplicada en el sector
alimentario para ayudar a solucionar el problema del desperdicio en todas las etapas de
la cadena alimentaria, “de la granja a la mesa”.
Palabras clave: Tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC), tecnologías
digitales, inteligencia artificial, sostenibilidad, desperdicio de alimentos.
Introduction
Currently, food waste is becoming a problem worldwide. The Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) first defined food waste as any product that is
discarded, lost, or degraded at any point in the food supply chain. It was subsequently
clarified that food waste is a component of food loss, referring to the discarding or
repurposing of food that is nutritious and safe for human consumption throughout the
Revista Científica Ciencia y Tecnología Vol 24 No 43
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entire food supply chain, from primary production to end consumer. Approximately one-
third of the global food production is estimated to go to waste (FAO, 2019). Within the
European Union, 20% of the food produced is wasted, which represents around 88 million
tons and a loss of 143 billion euros per year (EC, 2023).
From an ecological point of view, food waste represents 8% of anthropogenic greenhouse
gas emissions (European Parliament, 2017), with the release of 3.3 billion tons of CO2
each year (FAO, 2019). These emissions are caused in the production phases and in the
destruction of food and accumulation in landfills, due to the emission of methane gas
(Liegeard and Manning, 2020), which is the third most important source of human-
induced global warming and whose greenhouse effect is 25 times higher than that of
carbon dioxide. On the other hand, it must be considered the natural resources invested
in food that will ultimately be wasted, such as water, energy, and farmland (Liegeard and
Manning, 2020), which represents a loss equivalent to 936 billion dollars a year
(Ishangulyyev et al., 2019).
Food losses and waste are a sign of inefficient and uncoordinated functioning of food
systems and a lack of social awareness. However, a notable distinction can be observed
between developing countries and industrialized countries, as 40% of losses in developing
countries occur during the early stages of food manufacturing and processing, while in
industrialized nations, over 40% of losses occur during the later stages of retail and
consumption (FAO, 2019). In industrialized countries, consumers waste between 173 and
290 kg per capita annually (Bellemare et al., 2017). To combat this social problem, the
United Nations (UN) has included food waste as one of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) proposed in the 2030 Agenda, specifically within SDG 12, which corresponds
to Responsible Production and Consumption. This Goal aims to change the current model
of production and consumption to achieve efficient management of natural resources,
implementing processes to prevent food loss, and promoting an ecological use of
chemical products and a reduction in waste generation. Regarding food waste, SDG 12.3
endeavors to cut per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level in half and reduce
food losses along the production and supply chains by 2030 (FAO, 2023).
Calzada, Alonso, Mesías.
Use of information and communication technologies to reduce food waste
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) refer to a collection of technologies
that facilitate the access, production, treatment, and communication of information in
various formats, such as text, images, sound, etc., which moves around computing,
microelectronics, and telecommunications, not isolated but interconnected and in inter-
operational mode. The impact of ICT on environmental sustainability has been significant,
and these technologies can play a pivotal role in mitigating food waste. The fourth
industrial revolution (or Industry 4.0) introduces the concept of the Internet of Things
(IoT) and promotes the use of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, robots,
big data analysis, etc., as tools to transform the operations of many companies and
encourage the creation of new business models, all with the ultimate objective of
enhancing profitability (Cane and Parra, 2020). The food industry requires an efficient
management strategy to attain improved quality, better process control, and optimal
utilization of raw materials, all of which are critical for preventing waste (Despoudi et al.,
2021). Digital technologies strive to ensure the coordination of various links in the food
supply chain, to help achieve an adequate shelf life in terms of food safety thanks to
greater traceability of the products (Stevens and Johnson, 2016), as well as to study and
facilitate the supply of the quantity of food to meet consumer demand while avoiding
overproduction, which is considered one of the main strategies to avoid food waste
(Tromp et al., 2016).
The current linear production system consists of the extraction of resources, industrial
manufacturing by companies, the use of products by consumers, and disposal, becoming
in most cases contaminant waste. The concept of circular economy advocates for a novel
approach to production and consumption, wherein the significance of products,
resources, and materials lies in their retention within the economy for as long as possible.
The strategy aims to minimize waste generation and optimize the utilization of
unavoidable waste to the greatest extent feasible (Plan de Acción de Economía Circular,
2021). All links in the food chain are responsible for preventing and reducing food waste,
including food production and processing (such as farmers, food manufacturers, and
processors), product distribution for consumption (such as the retail sector), and,
ultimately, consumers (Flores Pimentel, 2022). Food waste is primarily attributed to
households and processing, accounting for 47 and 17 million tons, respectively, which is
Revista Científica Ciencia y Tecnología Vol 24 No 43
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72% of the total food waste in the EU. The remaining 28% of waste comes from food
service (11 million tons, 12%), primary production (9 million tons, 10%), and wholesale
and retail (5 million tons, 5%) (as illustrated in Figure 1) (Stenmarck et al., 2016).
Undoubtedly, food waste occurs in all stages of the food supply chain, “from farm to fork”.
Figure 1. Distribution of European food waste in the different sectors of the food chain.
Source: Stenmarck et al. (2016)
In this context, the main objective of this work is to expose different technological
innovations applied in the different links of the food chain whose use can contribute to
reducing food waste and the environmental impact derived from it. A summary of the
applications of ICTs to reduce food waste in the different sectors of the food chain is
depicted in Figure 2.
Methods intended for food production
Traditionally the agricultural industry has depended on human labor with a limited
application of mechanical equipment and machinery (Baur and Iles, 2023). However,
several changes in today's society suggest a greater focus on the adoption of new
technologies such as robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) in the food supply chain.
Nowadays, it is estimated that more than 1.3-1.6 billion tons of food are wasted
throughout the entire food supply chain worldwide. These amounts are equivalent to
approximately one-third of the food production for human consumption of the world
population and more than one-quarter of the global agricultural production (Papaioannou
et al., 2022). In addition, the rise in the world population will increase the demand for
Production Processing Wholesale
and retail Food Service Household
Categoría 1 Categoría 2 Categoría 3 Categoría 4
11%
19%
5%
12%
53%