ABSTRACT
Xylitol is considered as one of the top relevant biorefinery sugar-derived products due to its interesting properties and its use has already been approved in more than forty countries. This polyol is mainly recognized in the food sector due to its sweetness equivalent to sucrose but with a significantly lower glycemic index. A great variety of products formulated with xylitol can be found in the market, being most industrially applied in chewing gum production. However, xylitol has others interesting properties, with several clinical applications, acting both on the prevention and treatment of diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, otitis and diabetes. This chapter comprehensively presents the established and in development xylitol applications, from food to medical sector, including recently discovered COVID-19 treatment potential, and chemical industries applications, exploring xylitol-based materials and its use on tissue-engineering. In addition, xylitol safety and side effects are explored, including the main policies regarding its use. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
This article attempts to answer the followed research question: how did the restaurants innovate their business model in order to adapt it to the COVID crisis?. A study of two cases shows that the activities, the resources and skills, the revenue model, and the beneficiaries have been transformed even sometimes reinforced in order to keep the business on. In the two cases, the inner resources were mobilised and the offer was changed. As regards the suppliers, their profiles have been changed because of the take away offer which pushed the restauranteurs to have new recipients and new materials in order to adapt their offer. © 2022, Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited. All right reserved.
ABSTRACT
We use many kinds of digital technologies in our daily life and they lead to radical changes. These technologies are recently being adopted by agriculture and food industry and their use in various applications is tested. The results of the studies conducted with the use of these technologies, especially IoT (internet of things)-based systems, are quite promising for the solution of the chronic problems of agriculture and food industry such as food-borne diseases, mycotoxin contaminations, pesticide residues, increasing waste, etc. Under extraordinary conditions, just like the ones we have recently experienced due to COVID-19 pandemic, IoT-based systems are crucial to ensure the sustainability of agriculture and food supply chain. In this review, the fundamentals of IoT-based systems and recent developments in their use in agriculture and food supply chain are explained. Based on the literature, examples of successful applications of IoT-based systems for irrigation efficiency, pesticide treatments, supply chain management etc. are given. Nowadays, there is a great demand for the integration of IoT-based systems into the present agricultural practices and supply chains and it seems to increase exponentially. Experts in electronics and computer sciences have achieved noteworthy success in the simulations. On the other hand, only a few studies have been conducted in real agricultural and food systems. However, IoT-based systems should be tested on-site and their success in practical applications should be proved. It is obvious that new era will be one in which IoT-based technologies and their tools will be more commonly used in agriculture and food supply. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
ABSTRACT
An electronic nose (e-nose) is a collection of sensors with specific characteristics. In this chapter, we will be discussing the current perspectives of e-noses in various sectors, such as military, biomedicine, food and beverages, agriculture… The important role of e-noses in these sectors can provide a new dimension to many things from detecting explosives to sensing chemicals in warfare;from maintaining food quality to helping in identifying various flavors of wine, from detecting cancer to sensing COVID-19 virus, etc. The e-nose market is a few decades old but it has marked its presence in almost all fields. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the environmental crisis in which our ecosystem is posed. In this context, the call to reorganize the production and consumption models to implement sustainable economic models is emerging. Accordingly, the Circular Economy paradigm, based on the reduction, reuse and recycling practices, has spurred as one of the best ways to manage this emergency state. The scientific literature has highlighted that, to shift from a traditional linear economic model to a circular economic one, the involvement of the whole supply chain is required, especially in the agri-food sector. In this perspective, the stakeholders' engagement plays a pivotal role in reaching the global goal. The present research aims to explore the stakeholders' perception of messages conveyed through social media on circular economy in agri-food, using a coding framework based on the reclassification of the "Glossary of Circular Economy” according to a 4-R paradigm (reduce, reuse, recycle and reduce). In particular, the study analyses the stakeholders' reactions to Twitter posts focused on agri-food and circular economy from the beginning of the pandemic until now. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
This paper examines relationship marketing through the views of agri-food enterprises during COVID-19 using the commitment-trust theory as a framework. For this purpose, a primary research was conducted in 266 Greek agri-food enterprises at all stages of the agri-food sector and its activities to investigate relationship marketing in times of crisis. Through a confirmatory structural equation model (SEM), compatible with the commitment-trust theory, the results show that relationship termination costs explain the relationship commitment while communication explains trust. Moreover, there is an indirect effect of shared values on cooperation through trust. It is important to note that despite the COVID-19 crisis, there is no effect of uncertainty on trust. The above outcomes shed light on agri-food enterprises and relationship marketing in periods of crisis. With this knowledge, this paper provides recommendations to agri-food enterprises to focus on cooperation and shared values rather than being dominated by uncertainty. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: International outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 infection has fostered the Italian government to impose the FFP2 protective facial masks in closed environments, including bar, restaurants and, more in general, in the food sector. Protective facial masks are rocketing, both in mass and in costs, in the food sector imposing efforts in fostering reuse strategies and in the achievement of sustainable development goals. The scope of the present paper is to depict possible strategies in manufacturing and reuse strategies that can reduce the carbon footprint (CF) of such devices. Design/methodology/approach: To implement circular economy strategies in the protective facial masks supply chain, it was considered significant to move towards a study of the environmental impact of such devices, and therefore a CF study has been performed on an FFP2 facial mask used in the food sector. Different materials besides the mostly used polypropylene (PP) (polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), poly (lactic acid) (PLA), cotton, polyurethane (PUR), polystyrene (PS) and nylon 6,6) and different sanitisation alternatives as reuse strategies (both laboratory and homemade static oven, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) readily implemented have been modelled to calculate the CF of a single use of an FFP2 mask. Findings: The production of textiles in PP, followed by disposal was the main contributor to CF of the single-use FFP2 mask, followed by packaging and transportations. PP and PE were the least impacting, PC, cotton and Nylon 6-6 of the same weight results the worst. PLA has an impact greater than PP and PE obtained from crude oil, followed by PUR and PS. Static laboratory oven obtained an 80.4% reduction of CF with respect to single use PP-made FFP2 mask, whereas homemade oven obtained a similar 82.2% reduction;UV cabinet is the best option, showing an 89.9% reduction. Research limitations/implications: The key strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of the masks (research for new materials and reuse with sanitisation) should ensure both the retention of filtering capacities and the sanitary sterility of the reused ones. Future developments should include evaluations of textile recycling impacts, using new materials and the evaluation of the life cycle costs of the reused masks. Practical implications: This paper intends to provide to stakeholders (producers, consumers and policy makers) the tools to choose the best option for producing and reuse environmentally friendly protective facial masks to be used in the food sector, by using both different materials and easily implemented reuse strategies. Social implications: The reduction of the CF of protective facial masks in the food sector surely will have relevant positive effects on climate change contributing to reach the goals of reducing CO2 emissions. The food sector may promote sustainable practices and attract a niche piece of clients particularly sensible to such themes. Originality/value: The paper has two major novelties. The first one is the assessment of the CF of a single use of an FFP2 mask made with different materials of the non-woven filtering layers;as the major contribution to the CF of FFP2 masks is related to the non-woven textiles manufacturing, the authors test some other different materials, including PLA. The second is the assessment of the CF of one single use of a sanitised FFP2 mask, using different sanitation technologies as those allowed in bars or restaurants. © 2022, Pasquale Giungato, Bianca Moramarco, Roberto Leonardo Rana and Caterina Tricase.
ABSTRACT
Food industry has a significant impact on human life. However, this industry has faced many challenges in Jordan in the last decade. These challenges might be globally or locally and effecting its supply chain. Nowadays, the term e-food retailing services have become viral. These services can organize the procedure of the food sector and its supply chain. Also, it will save time and effort for consumers and provides privacy, security, reliability, and service availability. In the study, we investigated the factors that might encourage or concern people to use e-food retailing services instead of traditional food retailing services to help the conventional food retailing service operator pay attention to these factors when transferring to online service. Therefore, we developed a survey to discover these factors. Based on 78 responses, we found that delivery time and cost, food quality, food freshness, service availability, and reliability are the top factors that concern people using e-food retailing services. However, adding some to the e-food applications such as quickly reordering their previous orders, easily reviewing their previous invoices, getting a competitive price, providing special offers, providing loyalty points, privacy, security, friendliness of the user interface, and quickly finding information about the food, can encourage people to use e-food retailing applications. In addition, most participants emphasized that COVID-19 encouraged them to use e-food retailing services. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
In complex systems such as a food supply chain, where integrated flows of materials and information take place beyond the boundaries of individual companies, a substantial degree of inherent uncertainty cannot be avoided. That uncertainty may increase significantly when unexpected disruptions occur. Evidence of this is given by the recent - and still ongoing - crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic (commonly known as COVID-19), which is expected to create an economic depression even more severe than the 2008 financial crisis. This has been already observed in some economic sectors such as travel and tourism, food and agriculture, retail, healthcare systems and academic institutions. This paper grounds on a bibliographic analysis of articles and studies that have already been conducted about the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains and logistics processes, with a specific focus on the food systems, with the purpose of gaining a better understanding of this topic and of finding out how it may develop in the coming years. From the literature, a questionnaire was delineated as used as the basis for carrying out an empirical analysis on this topic, by means of an interview with a company working in the food sector. During the interview, the (medium-term) consequences of the pandemic on the food supply chains are investigated, focusing on logistics processes, whose stability has been challenged by numerous factors. The findings of the interview are presented and discussed, with the ultimate aim to highlight how COVID-19 has contaminated the logistics functions, definitely changing the way of approaching and acting within a supply chain. A series of reflections about the results obtained from the various research studies carried out, providing suggestions for possible future developments are finally presented. © 2022 The Authors.
ABSTRACT
Food security is a central priority for international policy as one of the world's most significantly urgent targets to achieve. It is considered one of the most pressing issues in many countries, the degree of food security representing the level of self-sufficiency and well-being of citizens. In particular, in the current COVID-19 pandemic era, it has more than ever become a mission-critical goal. In this research, we report on the food security drivers and the current state of recommended policies addressing chronic food insecurity aimed at ensuring the sustainability of future food production. Mapping the determinants of food security contributes to a better understanding of the issue and aids in the development of appropriate food security policies and strategies to enhance the sustainability of food production in all facets; namely environmental, social, and economic. Adopting the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) data screening and selection guidelines and standards, we carried out a comprehensive, reliable, systematic, and rigorous review of research from the last ten years in order to identify the most frequently mentioned drivers and policies of food security in the literature available in two databases: Scopus and Web of Science (WOS). The number of extracted articles was 141 papers in total. An analysis revealed 34 drivers of food security and 17 most recommended policies for the mitigation of food insecurity. The existence of food loss and waste (FLW) policies was the primary driver of food security, followed by food security policies (FSP) in their different forms. However, FSP were the most recommended policies, followed by FLW policies. The identified food security drivers and recommended policies should be used by policy-makers to improve food security, thus contributing to sustainable food production. Our research findings, reflected in the latest version of the Global Food Security Index (GFSI), resulted in more tangible policy implications, suggesting the addition of two dimensions regarding food security. We also identified elements not listed under the GFSI that could be considered in its future revision, including environmental policies/indicators, consumer representation, and traceability throughout the entire supply chain. Overall, it can be concluded that food security is a complicated and multi-faceted issue that cannot be restricted to a single variable, necessitating the deeper integration of various multi-disciplinary interventions.
ABSTRACT
The pandemic caused by the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has widespread socio-economic consequences worldwide. The implications of the COVID-19 crisis also include changes in production, consumption, trade, and agri-food commodity prices. This paper focuses on the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis on producer and retail prices of agri-food commodities in European Union (EU) countries. The study is based on monthly producer and consumer food price indices in EU countries. In estimating the impact of COVID-19 on prices, actual price changes were compared with counterfactual figures derived from ex-post forecasts calculated according to regARIMA models. The study of the causes of price changes was based on both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the quantitative approach, the impact of the strength of applied restrictions and the trade position of countries on the deviation of actual prices from the forecasts was examined. For this purpose, regression models based on cross-sectional data were applied. The results show that there is a quite significant variation in the dynamics of changes in agri-food commodity prices both among countries and across the marketing chain. A negative and statistically significant relationship has been found between country food self-sufficiency in the pre-COVID-19 period and changes in producer prices during the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis. In turn, the strength of stay-at-home restrictions was significant for retail price formation during the COVID-19 crisis. The general conclusion is that the responses of agri-food prices during the pandemic vary both spatially and over time.
ABSTRACT
Despite a series of regulative steps and the introduction of a minimum wage in 2015, meat production as well as agricultural and horticultural farming remain vulnerable to undeclared work and exploitative employment structures. The COVID-19 pandemic was a disruptive event for these industries: mass infections in meat factories and housing facilities for seasonal migrants, but also a looming shortage of harvest workers evoked rapid regulative responses, albeit with a different focus. In the agricultural fruit and vegetable sector, security of supply, labour shortage and farm survival centred stage, prompting adaptive measures to comfort farmers, retailers and consumers. In the meat industry, reforms were much more profound and marked a fundamental policy change towards improved working conditions. This article sheds light on the frameworks for recruiting, employing and (potentially) exploiting migrant workers in these two segments of the German agri-food sector. We critically contextualise the legal, political and institutional changes ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and find that the reforms each have a quite different potential to sustainably improve the precarious working conditions of migrant workers in agriculture and meat production, respectively. Keywords © 2022 Copyright 2022 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT The agri-food system is undergoing pervasive changes in business models, facilitated by the use of digital technologies. Although today it is almost inevitable for any business to adopt some level of digital transformation to strengthen their competitiveness, this transition in the agri-food sector could be more complex, given its characteristics. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study is to analyse worldwide the perceptions of new digital technologies in the agri-food sector expressed within social media platforms, identifying the differences that may exist between them regarding its objectives and social acceptance. METHODS This paper examines the information regarding digital transformation process in the agri-food sector disseminated worldwide on Twitter. For that purpose, Twitter API is used to gather tweets and descriptive and content analyses, including a sentiment analysis, are performed using R and MAXQDA software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS We found that the digitalization of the agri-food sector is broadly discussed within Twitter. Different actors participate in these information flows, being companies and digital solution providers the most active users and academics and governmental institutions the most visible. Artificial Intelligence was the most mentioned technology, that together with the Internet of Things, Big Data, Machine Learning, and Cloud Computing, was related to improving production efficiencies, crop yield, or cost reduction. In the case of Blockchain Technology, it was closer to food supply chain actors, such as distribution companies and marketers. However, all these technologies are connected to the concept of sustainability. The sentiment analysis showed a generally positive tone, indicating social acceptance regarding the starting phase of the adoption of these technologies. The study also identified differences among countries, pointing to a stronger level of engagement with these technologies in developed regions. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic was seen as a chance to boost the digital transformation in the sector all over the world. SIGNIFICANCE Our results demonstrate that data harvested from Twitter provide useful insight into perceptions of digital transformation and different digital technologies in the agri-food value chain across different countries. Information that could be useful for researchers, but also for agricultural firms and policymakers.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has produced another era on the planet while we sort out the outcomes in various parts of our everyday life. The food sector and food supply chain do not incorporate an exception. In Latvia, the agricultural and food sector is important for the national economy;therefore, it is important that production, processing, logistics, supply and trade disruptions are successfully overcome during the pandemic and the food sector develops rapidly after the crisis and is more resilient in the future. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to examine potential scenarios for overcoming the crisis in food supply chains with the aim of promoting sectoral development and resilience after Covid-19 crisis in Latvia. The research identified two key drivers of food supply chains during the crisis and post-crisis period: 1) market demand for a particular product;2) capability to ensure the production process is uninterrupted, with the availability and sufficiency of individuals/employees at all stages of the food supply chain. Any case of Covid-19 in a company could lead to production interruptions, thereby causing losses to the company and affecting the market situation. The research developed four scenarios for food supply chains for the crisis and post-crisis period, gave descriptions of the scenarios for key food sector segments and found that the scenarios and the resilience of the food sector during the post-crisis period were determined by the duration of the crisis. © 2021 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Geoconference. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The food industry represented 2019 3.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Peru, in addition to presenting high employability being that the sector contained 7.4% of the Economically Active Population (EAP) [1]. However, due to the world crisis caused by COVID 19, this sector has been harmed in the year 2020 because the GDP of the accommodation and restaurants sector decreased by 50.2% compared to the previous year [2]. For that reason, strengthening this industry is considered crucial. One of the most critical links in the management of the supply chain of material, this problem results in the late delivery of orders to their customers, which would generate significant monetary losses and a bad reputation. In this sense, the present research proposes an integral improvement model based on the combination of tools such as the 5S ordering of raw material under a multi-criteria ABC approach, FEFO, MRP, Forecasting, and BPM, whose objective is to reduce the lead time. The model was validated through a simulation in Arena 16.1, where a reduction in delivery time and the frequency of extra purchases in 7.2% y 50%. © 2022 ACM.
ABSTRACT
Following the rapid spread of coronavirus 'COVID-19' around the world and the imposed confinement measures by governments, the food retailing sector has experienced tremendous shifts in trends among consumers. Due to uncertainty of the future, the food sector faced an imbalance in supply demand, following the shift towards online grocery shopping to mitigate the risk of infection from supermarkets. Towards the end of the first lockdown restrictions imposed by the Saudi Arabian government, this research studies the impact of COVID-19, a disease created by corona virus, on the intention to continuously use online food channels post pandemic. In this research, we intend to evaluate the consumer factors that determine their intention to use online food channels even after the confinement measures. The study focuses on the interaction between the independent variables, customer satisfaction, social influence, trust and convenience and the dependent variable intention to use online food channels. The study was conducted on 528 Saudi citizens using a questionnaire distributed through social media. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information questions and questions related to each of the independent variables, which were analyzed using SPSS-22 software. The findings revealed that there is a significant association between the consumer factors and the intention to use online food channels post-pandemic. © 2022 Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Delhi.
ABSTRACT
This study empirically determines the risk level of food sector employees for the virus COVID-19 infection, specifically those who are under the food sector in the Philippines. This paper utilizes the RIKA Risk Assessment Tool to assess health, behavioral, exposure, and social factors that may contribute to the overall risk score of individuals. The researchers used data from a sample of 55 respondents obtained from a digital survey containing the RIKA Risk Assessment Tool, which was then analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results of the statistical analysis used presented low to moderate risk levels of being infected with COVID-19 based on the personal assessment of their surroundings and health practices of the food sector employees. Researchers found that workers in the Philippines' food sector are exposed to a variety of risk factors: health, behavioral, exposure, and social policy. The majority have a moderate impact upon the said results;however, adhering to proper hygiene, community standards, and lockdown policies can significantly influence outcomes. © 2022 ACM.
ABSTRACT
Agri-food is the second manufacturing sector in Italy, due to its strategic nature. However,it is affected by several problematics, and one of the most severe is the generation of wastes and by-products. The circular economy could be a winning approach to improve the sustainability of the food supply chain. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the current policy situation in Europe, with a focus on Italy. The history of circular economy policies in Europe started recently, and is continuing nowadays with the New Circular Economy Action Plan. Italy is in the top position for circularity, even if it has not yet implemented a proper circular economy policy. Future actions should concentrate on developing innovative circular models for the agri-food sector. © 2021 Firenze University Press. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
The global socio-economic and sanitary crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has generated many different effects on the links of the global agri-food value chains regarding the production and consumption behaviors of agri-food products. Depending on the link, these effects can be positive, negative, or even a mix of both. However, all these sudden changes, beneficial or not, they result in deepening the economic tensions existing along the agri-food value chains. In this context, the aim of this research was to explore the rising tensions along the Romanian agri-food value chains during the different stages of the COVID-19 crisis in Romania, while bringing the HoReCa industry in the spotlight of this study, and, more specifically, the food service component. This paper brings contribution to the literature concerning the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic at the level of the agri-food value chains based on a statistical analysis carried out with the data available from two open access sources: Google Trends and the Romanian National Institute of Statistics. A short bibliometric analysis was also elaborated on the papers tackling the topic of the rising tensions along the agri-food value chains during the pandemic. Research results show that the Romanian HoReCa industry has been subject to various challenges emerged from the need to limit the spread of the COVID-19 disease. This has generated a lot of concern - not only from the food security perspective, but also from the perspective of the entrepreneurs active in the agri-food value chains. Food-ordering companies with homedelivery have been of high interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they connect two major links in the food chain: restaurants and consumers. While consumers have become more dependent than ever on digital solutions to purchase food, a lot of pressure is put on indoor restaurants.
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the effects of three different simulated post-COVID-19 recovery GDP growth rates during 2021-2023 (baseline, optimistic and pessimistic scenarios) for agricultural markets in four selected EU Member States (the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Hungary) compared to a pre-COVID-19 projection. Empirical results are derived from the AGMEMOD model. A self-sufficiency ratio is utilised to summarise the net effects on consumption and supply in the agricultural markets. The country level analysis confirms that the agriculture sector in the EU has been quite resilient during the pandemic. The simulated impacts of the different GDP shocks on the agri-food sector are limited, which also conforms to reality, but changes in consumer behaviour could lead to longer lasting impacts on specific sectors.