Characterizing food systems to better understand their vulnerabilities: a case study in Québec and São Paulo

Characterizing food systems, i.e., describing their organizational features, can help to generate a better understanding of the structural vulnerabilities that constrain transitions towards sustainable food security. However, their characterization across different economic contexts remains challenging. In this paper, by linking key concepts from research on food regimes, food system vulnerabilities and responsible innovation, we aim to characterize food systems in a developing and a developed economy to identify their shared vulnerabilities. We applied a case study design to characterize food production, processing and distribution in the province of Québec (Canada) and in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). In both cases, the processing and distribution stages have higher economic predominance when compared to the agricultural production stage. Furthermore, we observed concentration in a few activities in both food systems, with a shared focus on export-oriented supply chains. Vulnerabilities in both food systems include: (1) increased interdependence because some supply chains are export-oriented or depend on foreign labor and are, therefore, exposed to external risks;(2) concentration in a few activities, which threatens present and future local food diversity and (3) unequal power relations, making small and medium players vulnerable to decisions made by big players. The characterization developed in this study shows that the two food systems are mainly pursuing economic goals, following the institutional logics of the neoliberal food regime, which are not necessarily aligned with food security goals. It also exposes the presence of characteristics of ‘responsibility' that may eventually help overcome food systems' vulnerabilities and support transitions toward sustainability.

Post pandemic strategic planning of food catering production and distribution networks: A regional case study

Due to the Covid19 outbreak, the food catering industry faces disruption of demand traits and great uncertainty about the future development of market segmentation. The need for a re-design of production and logistic networks faces the lack of knowledge about cost drivers, rendering the application of mathematical optimization models challenging. In this paper, a cost components analysis is carried out to quantify each cost item's impact on the full meal cost. Cost analysis aims to formalize the relationship between meal cost and parameters such as productivity, meal conservation regime, customer typology, portioning method, and customer-plant distance. The cost parameters are adjusted through empirically driven correction factors to include operational and management complexities that would otherwise be neglected. The obtained parameters feed a total cost minimization model for a productive and distributive catering network. The location-allocation model chooses the production capacity to activate in each production plant for every meal-type and achieves the customer-production plant pairing. The framework is applied in an Italian regional case study to compare the BAU scenario to two different To-Be scenarios. The As-Is scenario considers four different production facilities serving the pre-pandemic demand of 2019, while the To-Be scenarios are based upon a demand forecast enforcing a more resilient network. The analysis shows how re-designing production and distribution networks enables meeting uncertain demand while keeping FMCs under control within a regional environment. © 2022 The Authors.

Research Report: Innovation among Businesses Across the Agri-Food Supply Chain during COVID-19

Innovation contributes critically to business recovery following major crises. Traditionally, business innovation is characterized by a series of choices and actions over time. During COVID-19, however, businesses throughout the agri-food supply chain were forced to innovate rapidly due to sudden unforeseen policy changes. To understand innovation induced by COVID-19, we analyze 297 usable responses from a survey of agri-food supply chain businesses in two distinct study regions (California and the two-state region of Minnesota-Wisconsin). Results indicate that larger agri-food businesses managed by younger owner-operators were more likely to innovate and adapt during the COVID-19 crisis. © 2023, Food Distribution Research Society. All rights reserved.

Of COVID-19 and Chickens: The Ethics of One Workplace Safety Policy Early in the Pandemic

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic created considerable challenges for the food supply chain. One of the industries hardest hit was the agricultural and agri-foods industry. This industry has long faced worker shortages and regularly relied on temporary foreign workers. In this case, Roosters, a chicken processing and production company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, had just come off a very costly 12-day closure following a COVID-19 exposure risk in two of its processing plants. With the company back in operation a new safety policy has been implemented to limit future virus exposure and shutdown risks. The policy, however, targets a small group of temporary foreign workers, one of whom is challenging the lengths the company can go in the name of protecting employees from the virus and the company from losses due to closure. © 2022 Neilson Journals Publishing.

Resilient reverse logistics with blockchain technology in sustainable food supply chain management during COVID‐19

COVID‐19, which is a global problem, affects the all supply chains throughout the world. One of the supply chains most affected by COVID‐19 is food supply chains. Since the sustainable food supply chain processes are complex and vulnerable in terms of product variety, it has been negatively affected by the operational effects of COVID‐19. While the problems experienced in the supply chain processes and raw material constraints caused stops in production, the importance of new business models and production approaches came to the fore. One of the issues of increasing importance is the adoption of reverse logistics activities in sustainable food supply chains and increasing the resilience of food supply chains by integrating blockchain technology into processes. However, adapting blockchain technology to increase the resilience of reverse logistics activities in the food supply chain has advantages as well as risks that need to be considered. Therefore, it is aimed to determine these risks by using fuzzy synthetic evaluation method for eliminating the risks of blockchain adaptation for flexible reverse logistics in food supply chains to increase resiliency. The novelty of this study is that besides discussing about the benefits of BC‐T, it is to identify the risks it can create, to eliminate these risks and to guide the establishment of resilience in reverse logistics activities of SFSCs. According to results, the risks with the highest value among the subrisks are determined as data security risks. Data management risks are calculated as the risk with the highest value.

A cost-based tool for the comparison of different e-grocery supply chain strategies

E-commerce is always a more diffused sales channel around the whole world market. The grocery market has been interested in the expansion of this phenomenon, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, when electronic grocery (e-grocery) shopping increased considerably. Moreover, it has remained a diffused selling channel also later, in the non-emergency state. To satisfy this specific market demand, grocery chains are facing the need for a redesign with a new logistic perspective. A grocer can carry out online orders in several ways;it can process them directly in stores using internal staff to shop from the shelves during off-peak hours. Alternatively, some local stores can be closed to customers and dedicated to online orders (dark stores). Another strategy is to carry out online orders from a single distribution centre (e-hub), using stores to complete orders with very fresh products and from which to carry out deliveries. Finally, online orders can be wholly managed by multi e-hubs. Each solution has different logistics costs and performances, influenced by online demand. For this reason, this work aims to present a cost-based function for grocery chains that compares four strategies to respond to e-grocery shopping. The cost function considers picking, refilling, and transport costs by varying orders and articles quantity. Further, we aim to minimise costs according to online order characteristics and volumes. We identify five decision variables to select the most suitable strategy for the design of the e-grocery network. Finally, a decision support system (DSS) is developed to define the best strategy based on the decision variables.

A review on post-COVID-19 impacts and opportunities of agri-food supply chain in Malaysia.

Background: Malaysia is strongly supported by the agriculture sector as the backbone to drive the economy. However, COVID-19 has significantly affected agriculture across the production, supply, and marketing chains. It also disturbs the balance of food supply and demand in Malaysia. COVID-19 was an unexpected pandemic that resulted in shock and panic and caused a huge global impact. However, the impacts of this pandemic on the agriculture sector in Malaysia, particularly in the production and supply chains, are still unclear and scarce. This review offers insights into the challenges, particularly in sustaining agri-food production and supply chains. It also highlights the opportunity and relevant measures towards sustainability in agriculture to avoid agri-food disasters in the future. Methods: This study was carried out through a desk review of the secondary source of information covering the impact of COVID-19 in Malaysia particularly in the agri-food aspect, and a wide range of strategies and initiatives as the effective measures to overcome the crisis of this pandemic. Online desk research of the government published data and customer desk research were utilized to complete this study. Search engines such as Google Scholar and the statistical data from the official websites including the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) and the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region (FFTC-AP), were utilized. Keywords such as impact of COVID-19, pandemic, and agri-food supply chain were used to conduct the searches. The articles identified to be related to the study's objective were then downloaded and included in the study. Descriptive methods were used as the primary analysis technique following the descriptive analysis and visual data analysis in performing the sources obtained. Results: This devastating impact damages the lives by causing 4.3 million confirmed infections and more than 290,000 deaths. This disease presents an unprecedented challenge to the public health. The lockdown restriction under the movement control order (MCO), for more than of the world's population in the year 2020 to control the virus from spreading, has disrupted most of the economic sectors. The agriculture industry was seen as one of the essential industries and allowed to operate under strict standard operating procedures (SOP). Working under strict regulations came with a huge price paid for almost all industries. Conclusion: This pandemic has affected the national agri-food availability and accessibility in Malaysia. This outbreak created a reflection of opportunity for sharing a more flexible approaches in handling emergencies on agricultural food production and supply chains. Therefore, the government should be ready with the roadmap and enforce the measures to control the pandemic without disrupting the agri-food supply chain in the near future.

Industry 4.0 and Beyond: A Review of the Literature on the Challenges and Barriers Facing the Agri-Food Supply Chain

In recent years, the Industry 4.0 concept has gained considerable attention from professionals, researchers and decision makers. For its part, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of managing the agri-food supply chain to ensure the food that the population needs. Industry 4.0 and its extensions can address the needs of the agri-food supply chain by bringing new features such as security, transparency and traceability in line with sustainable development goals. This study aims to systematically analyze the literature to address the challenges and barriers against the application of industry 4.0 and its related technologies in the management of an agri-food supply chain. Currently, despite the large number of publications, there is no clear agreement on what Industry 4.0 is, and even less its extensions. The next revolution that includes new technologies and improves several existing technologies brings additional conceptual and practical complexity. Consequently, in this work we first determine the main components of I 4.0 and their extensions by studying the literature, and then, in the second step, define the agri-food supply chain on which I 4.0 technologies are applied. Two well-known databases-Web of Science and Scopus-were chosen to extract data for the systematic review of the literature. For the final evaluation, we identified 24 of 100 reviewed publications. The results provide an exhaustive analysis of the different I 4.0 technologies and their extensions that are applied in regards to the agri-food supply chain. In addition, we find 15 challenges that are classified into five major themes in the agri-food supply chain: technical, operational, financial, social and infrastructure. The four most important challenges identified are technological architecture, security and privacy, big data management and IoT (internet)-based infrastructure. Only a few articles addressed sustainability, which reaffirms and demonstrates a considerable gap in terms of the sustainable agri-food supply chain, with waste management being the one that has attracted the most attention. This review provides a roadmap for academics and practitioners alike, showing the gaps and facilitating the identification of I 4.0 technologies that can help address the challenges facing the efficient management of an agri-food supply chain.

Robust optimization and strategic analysis for agri-food supply chain under pandemic crisis: Case study from an emerging economy.

Pandemic crises like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have severely influenced companies working in the Agri-food industry in different countries. Some companies could overcome this crisis by their elite managers, while many experienced massive financial losses due to a lack of the appropriate strategic planning. On the other hand, governments sought to provide food security to the people during the pandemic crisis, putting extreme pressure on companies operating in this field. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a model of the canned food supply chain under uncertain conditions in order to analyze it strategically during the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem uncertainty is addressed using robust optimization, and also the necessity of using a robust optimization approach compared to the nominal approach to the problem is indicated. Finally, to face the COVID-19 pandemic, after determining the strategies for the canned food supply chain, by solving a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem, the best strategy is specified considering the criteria of the company under study and its equivalent values are presented ​​as optimal values of a mathematical model of canned food supply chain network. The results demonstrated that "expanding the export of canned food to neighboring countries with economic justification" was the best strategy for the company under study during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the quantitative results, implementing this strategy reduced by 8.03% supply chain costs and increased by 3.65% the human resources employed. Finally, the utilization of available vehicle capacity was 96%, and the utilization of available production throughput was 75.8% when using this strategy.

A multi-actor ICT platform for increasing sustainability and resilience of small-scale farmers after pandemic crisis

Purpose: This paper proposes an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform to increase the sustainability and resilience of smallholders to face supply chain disruptions in the event of COVID-like crises. The platform facilitates interactions between smallholders and buyers, workers and freight transport companies in agri-food ecosystems. Furthermore, this research work presents the implementation of the freight transport companies' platform module. Design/methodology/approach: The research work begins with a literature review aiming at analyzing current available ICT solutions supporting smallholders and other actors in the agri-food supply chain. This analysis identifies the research gaps which have to be filled by the platform. Then, the authors proceed with the analysis of the operational scenarios of each platform actor by interacting with experts and operators working in the agri-food sector. The results of such analysis resulted in a comprehensive, unambiguous and consistent set of specification being used to define the platform structure and modules architecture. The platform modules have been developed by using the web-application framework Laravel. Findings: Preliminary tests show that the proposed platform is usable and promises to improve the resilience and economic, social and environmental sustainability of agri-food supply chains, with a focus on smallholders. Originality/value: The research work allows players in the agri-food supply chain and in particular small local producers to react and mitigate the impact of COVID-like crises through development of a platform in which smallholders, citizens (buyers and workers) and freight transport companies are simultaneously present. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Industry 4.0 technologies in agri-food sector and their integration in the global value chain: A review

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

Bullwhip effect: Modelling and simulation osinusoidal stimulus considering food waste

Background: The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has stressed why a change towards resilient, robust and sustainable supply chains is more imperative than ever. This is especially true for supply chains of perishable foods, where issues such as the bullwhip effect cause not only economic but also environmental damage.Objectives: The key objectives of this study are to gain a deeper insight into correlations regarding the causes of the bullwhip effect and to see how a sinusoidal stimulus is affecting the generation of food waste. Method: A simplified beef food chain was modelled in Tecnomatix Plant Simulation®. As the bullwhip effect consists of a simplified parameterisation of an excitation duration (period length) and its height (amplitude), these two variables were used to generate a sinusoidal stimulus. The simulation results were statistically verified and checked for commonalities and differences with the already established scientific knowledge. Results: While the expected higher sensitivity of the front links of the supply chain to waste generation can be confirmed, the results of a long stimulation period suggest that the negative effects of the bullwhip effect do not increase indefinitely. Conclusion: The analysis of the results has shown that previous theories can be transferred, but that the variation of the variables entails new insights for the interdependencies of the amplitude and period length and their influence on the output variable waste. Contribution: The study contributes to a more holistic understanding of the bullwhip effect and, in particular, its implications within a perishable food supply chain. © 2023. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Modeling of Critical Food Supply Chain Drivers Using DEMATEL Method and Blockchain Technology

The main purpose of this paper is to identify the critical drivers of the food supply chain (FSC) in the Indian context and find cause–effect relationships among the identified drivers using a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-based method. After a review of the literature and discussion with food chain experts, fourteen drivers have been identified for this study. Critical drivers and their causal relationships are explored through the cause-and-effect diagram. Results of this study show that the drivers namely "Shift towards a sustainable food system in India” (D7), "Social requirements on food security and safety” (D13), and "Growing attention towards food SCM amidst pandemic Covid-19” (D1) are the top three critical and influential drivers. It has been observed that limited research studies are done to identify and analyze the FSC drivers specific in the Indian context. Recent advancements in Blockchain technology have paved the path for improving the performance of the food supply chain with appropriate Blockchain technology intervention. Blockchain technology (BT) can be a new driver in the FSCM. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for the implementation of Blockchain technology in the food supply chain. This paper attempts to draw the attention of policymakers to develop a new sound policy with the help of Blockchain technology to ensure food security. © 2023, The Institution of Engineers (India).

Challenges Facing Artificial Intelligence Adoption during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Investigation into the Agriculture and Agri-Food Supply Chain in India

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has witnessed a significant loss for farming in India due to restrictions on movement, limited social interactions and labor shortage. In this scenario, Artificial Intelligence (AI) could act as a catalyst for helping the farmers to continue with their farming. This study undertakes an analysis of the applications and benefits of AI in agri-food supply chain, while highlights the challenges facing the adoption of AI. Data were obtained from 543 farmers in Odisha (India) through a survey, and then interpreted using "Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM)”;MICMAC;and "Step-Wise-Assessment and Ratio-Analysis (SWARA)”. Response time and accuracy level;lack of standardization;availability of support for big data;big data support;implementation costs;flexibility;lack of contextual awareness;job-losses;affordability issues;shortage of infrastructure;unwillingness of farmers;and AI safety-related issues are some challenges facing the AI adoption in agri-food supply chain. Implications were drawn for farmers and policy makers.

Food supply chain waste reduction for a circular economy in the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study of New Zealand consumers

PurposeFood waste (FW) reduction, of which household wastage comprises a large fraction, has an important role in promoting the circular economy (CE). This study investigates how certain consumer traits impact household FW, particularly in the face of external shocks.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a qualitative and longitudinal study, spanning three periods in New Zealand. A preliminary model is constructed from the outcomes of a survey with 178 participants. Then, the authors carried out 29 semi-structured interviews to refine the preliminary model and adapt it to the analysis of household waste behavior.FindingsDifferent segments of consumers have distinct response patterns in successive lockdowns, and these patterns impact household FW reduction and food supply chain (FSC) management. The key findings include (1) for government, quick responses to quash unhelpful rumors help to reduce public concerns around FSC interruption;(2) for retailers, the pandemic has hastened the growth of online shopping;being able to expand the distribution channel in a short time is a critical issue;and (3) for consumers, the experience of lockdown has different impacts on different groups of consumers. This variation of experience may either enhance or exacerbate FW in households.Originality/valueThis paper complements the existing literature on the FSC and contributes to household FW and CE literature by providing a framework that integrates external impacts, consumer segmentation to reflect on waste management, and the possible applications of the proposed framework.

Fresh Food Deliveries to Military Units During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines the military supply chains during the Covid-19 pandemic especially as viewed from the perspective of food purchase and delivery processes. Specifically, the objective is to identify the conditions necessary to ascertain the continuity of fresh food supplies and against this backdrop to develop a model of supplying military units with fresh food under conditions of emergency, e.g. a pandemic. The research methods employed included qualitative methods, such as mapping the processes related to the supply of fresh food to military units on a selected case, observation, expert interviews and analysis of literature and documents. As a result of the research, key areas of the supply process exposed to continuity disturbances and their determinants were identified. The conclusions relate to the possibility of improving activities in the field of supplier relationship management, taking into account the specificity of civil-military cooperation. The article concerns civil-military cooperation and disruptions in specific circumstances of the initial phase of a pandemic crisis. It is argued that there is a need for flexible, adaptive shaping of relations in terms of readiness to implement changes in food supplies in crisis situations. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The microbial-killing Ag nanoparticles in food supply chain: How it was applied and what a consumer should know?

Moving to 133 years of the synthesis of citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by M. C. Lea (published in Am. J. Sci, 1889), a myriad of scholarly works and patents were published globally demonstrating the applicability of this microbial-killing nanoparticles in various industries. One of the favorite applications is on the food supply chain whereby AgNPs serve to improve food safety and quality. In this paper, the adaptation of AgNPs in each phase of a typical food supply chain is disclosed, doubts associated with the potential risks brought by this technology, and what a consumer shall be aware of are highlighted.

Blockchain in Big Data for Agriculture Supply Chain

Agricultural food supply chain is a complex system starting from the production of food on a farm to the table of the consumer involving multiple stakeholders and a variety of processes. In recent years, the food supply chain has grown rapidly across nations, with customers demanding fresh, exotic foods all year round. The global shutdown due to the COVID pandemic has further complicated the food supply chain which has become prone to various contaminations and adulterations. Adulterated food is highly toxic to human health leading to several health issues, nutritional deficiencies, kidney disorders, and failure of vital organs. The existing systems used in the food supply chain do not provide enough transparency, traceability, food safety, or consumer trust. With today's Big Data integrated supply chains, such technologies are highly ineffective. In order to ensure food safety and consumer satisfaction, this chapter proposes using blockchain as an efficient technology to provide transparency, traceability, and trust in food supply chains. The chapter discusses the significance of smart agriculture and how blockchain might help agricultural supply chains that have Big Data incorporated overcome their difficulties. A thorough description of exclusive applications of blockchain in Big Data integrated food supply chains is provided. The chapter also describes how blockchain is integrated into each stage of the food supply chain management process and explores the challenges in implementing blockchain in Big Data integrated food supply chain systems. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Promoting agri-food systems resilience through ICT in developing countries amid COVID-19

An increasing body of literature has demonstrated COVID-19's harmful impact on agri-food systems, which are a major source of livelihood for millions of people worldwide. Information and communication technology (ICT) has been playing an increasing role in enhancing agri-food systems' resilience amid COVID-19. In this study, the PRISMA approach was employed to perform a systematic review of the literature from January 2020 to December 2021 on the overall impact of COVID-19 on agri-food system networks and ICT's role in enhancing agri-food system resilience in developing countries. This study reveals that COVID-19 has posed abundant obstacles to agri-food systems actors, including a lack of inputs, technical support, challenges to selling the product, transportation barriers, and low pricing. These impediments result in insufficient output, unforeseen stock, and revenue loss. COVID-19's restrictions have caused a significant food deficit by disrupting the demand and supply sides of the agri-food system networks. A high number of small-scale farmers have had to deal with food insecurity. As a result of the cumulative effects, actors in the agri-food system are getting less motivated to continue producing. This study also argues that many challenges in the agri-food systems can be overcome using ICTs, including maintaining precise farm management, product marketing, and access to production inputs. To assist stakeholders in coping with, adapting to, and building resilience in the agri-food system networks, this article emphasizes the critical need to turn to and expand the application of advanced agricultural ICTs to meet the world's growing needs for food production and to ensure the resilience and sustainability of farming systems, particularly in the face of a pandemic like COVID-19. Copyright © 2023 Alam, Khatun, Sarker, Joshi and Bhandari.

The Achilles heel of the U.S. food industries: Exposure to labor and upstream industries in the supply chain

The modern‐day food industries are part of a complex agri‐food supply chain, where food production has become efficient yet potentially vulnerable to supply chain risks. The COVID‐19 pandemic is a testament to that end. This article measures and identifies the U.S. food manufacturing industries' vulnerability to upstream industries and labor occupations by (a) calculating a food industry's diversification of intermediate input purchases across upstream industries, (b) quantifying the relative exposure of food manufacturing in a given industry and location to upstream input suppliers and labor occupations, and (c) estimating each food industry's gross output elasticity of inputs. This article also explores geographic heterogeneity in food industries' vulnerability. Among our results, we find evidence that the animal processing industry's output is relatively vulnerable to production labor, consistent with the observed disruptions to the meatpacking sector during COVID‐19, which were largely caused by labor issues. Our results may help academics and practitioners to understand food industries' vulnerabilities to upstream industries and labor occupations.