Assessment of causes and consequences of food and agricultural raw material loss and opportunities for its reduction

The article summarizes and systematizes the causes and consequences of food loss and waste. The uncontrolled accumulation and inefficient management of loss and waste is a serious problem of food security in many countries. Moreover, the world annually loses or wastes about a third of food produced while natural resources are inefficiently used. A significant number of definitions and terms in the field of food loss and waste cause international inconsistency in management systems. So, systematization of terms and research methods for food loss and waste has been carried out. The review analyzes the stages of food supply chain, i.e. the production of agricultural raw materials, their collection, processing, transportation and consumption, where the largest loss and waste occur. Furthermore, environmental, social and other problems associated with the accumulation of loss and waste are considered. Prevention of food loss and waste has been shown to be a potential strategy to improve the balance of food supply and demand and is essential for improving food security while reducing environmental impact and providing economic benefits to various participants in the food supply chain. Separately, the actions taken by the Russian Federation in the field of waste management and reduction of food loss are considered. Attention is drawn to the fact that the difficulties in solving these problems are associated with insufficient progress in legislation and low funding of relevant research projects. Possible approaches for simulation and optimization of actions to support specific strategies to reduce loss and waste are considered, taking into account the following factors: improving the management of various inventories; developing a clear strategy for planning and allocating resources; forming the supply chain based on variability (uncertainty) of customer demand and supply. Knowledge comparison and integration, as well as optimization of food supply chain management are essential for development of strategies and decisions about where and how to focus efforts to most effectively ensure the reduction of loss and waste at each stage of food supply chain. The main decisions and practices for FLW prevention and management have been systematized.