Case Studies

WASTELESS has tested five tools and methodologies developed in five cases across the food supply chain covering, covering all actors, stakeholders and consumers involved.

  • Food industries: Food waste measurement tools were tested in real environments of different industrial food processing companies. Initial research conducted by WASTELESS identified the poor efficiency of production process technology and equipment as key causes of food waste. Case study leader: CNTA
ToolCountryField/sectorFeedback
WASTELESS Blockchain
(developed by: WIISE)		Portugal, Italyfruit and vegetable; olive oil and pasta; fruit products; meat; potato
  • The tool was tested successfully
  • Companies expressed concerns regarding data provision
  • Companies experienced difficulties with completing the forms; some areas need added specification
  • Food retailers: Food waste measurement tools were tested in both local and supermarkets. The tools were designed to check critical food waste drivers such as storage conditions, damaged products and lack of clear knowledge on expiration date.
    Case study leader: WIISE
ToolCountryField/sectorFeedback
WASTELESS Blockchain tool
(developed by: WIISE)		 Italy Consumers; Local Supermarkets; Big Supermarkets
  • Mixed feedback
  • Further development needed to create a more sector-specific system
Surplus Stock Measurement and Management Tool
(developed by: FAZLA)		 Italy Consumers; Local Supermarkets; Big Supermarkets
  • Limited interest to use the tool
  • High administrative workload
  • Difficult system integration
  • Food services: Food waste measurement tools were tested in different food services within school, university and restaurant environments, where the main reasons for food waste are overestimated stock, lack of planning and poor preservation.
    Case study leader: VIMOSZ
Tool Country Field/sector Feedback
WASTELESS Blockchain tool (developed by: WIISE) Hungary Contract catering
  • Similar systems already available and in use
  • Some necessary data was unavailable during completion
  • Complications with the online survey
  • The tool was considered promising
Surplus Stock Measurement and Management Tool (developed by: FAZLA) Türkiye University cafeteria
  • Tool not well-suited to the sector
  • Challenges during data entry; hard to identify food waste due to existing prevention strategies
Automatic System For FW Assessment At Household (developed by: JSI) Portugal Restaurants
  • Generally applicable
  • App compatibility issues and limited customer engagement posed challenges
  • Households: Three food waste measurement tools were tested with consumers at different households within the EU. The main grounds for food waste tend to be social norms, household size, cooking habits and shelf life.
    Case study leader: UTAD
ToolCountryField/sectorFeedback
Automatic System For FW Assessment At Household
(developed by: JSI)		 Slovenia, Portugal, Estonia, Hungary, Spain Households
  • Mixed feedback
  • Generally easy to use
  • Needs further development to improve user-friendliness
  • Device compatibility challenges
  • Educational support materials would be beneficial
WASTELESS Blockchain tool
(developed by: WIISE)		 Hungary, Switzerland Households
  • Majority of feedback positive
  • Needs additional elements to help users interpret types of waste
Computer Vision-Based Image Analysis
(developed by: HACETTEPE)		 Spain Households
  • Mixed feedback
  • Perceived as innovative
  • Further development necessary
  • Selected food supply chains:

    Companies with horizontally integrated production and supply chains were selected to test food waste measurement tools. The selected supply chains were chicken, beef, pork, milk and aquaculture.

    Case study leader: CNTA

Name of the production Tool Aim Country Field/sector Conclusion
Chicken Surplus Stock Measurement and Management Tool (developed by: FAZLA) Measure and manage surplus stock Spain Poultry production
  • Performed well during testing
  • High administrative workload; accurate meat expiration dating challenging
Beef & Pork Computer Vision-Based Image Analysis (developed by: HACETTEPE) Quality/condition assessment via image analysis Portugal Beef and pork production
  • Clear, well-separated results during testing
  • Ensuring proper environmental conditions for the camera was challenging
Milk & Aquaculture WASTELESS Blockchain tool (developed by: WIISE) Traceability & waste measurement across supply chain Italy Milk production and aquaculture
  • Applicable across multiple supply-chain sectors
  • Successful and robust
  • Further specification required in certain areas
 

Each case study will follow a specific methodology, interacting with the methods and tools of the project:

    1. Stakeholder analysis and engagement: application of the tools, analysis of end-user needs and training of HR and workshops.
  • Data collection: monitoring through the tools and method proposed in WASTELESS.
    1. Data assessment through continuous monitoring and analysis of data quality.
  • Tool evaluation: feedback from CS and impact assessment.
  • Operational material and best practices for the WASTELESS toolkit.

This will be used to issue recommendations for the optimisation of WASTELESS tools and will also help industries to identify their food waste sources and find solutions to optimise processes, productivity, and profitability.

The studies are coming soon.

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