In 2050, the world population will be nine billion people, an increase of two billion over 2014. Increasing prosperity in emerging countries means demand for qualitative better food is growing. If we want to ensure food security sustainably, we must make more-efficient use of raw materials and energy while reducing food waste. At present, 25-30% of food products are wasted somewhere in the chain or are used for low-value applications.
The Sustainable Food Chains programme helps the agrifood sector, via a multidisciplinary and chain-oriented approach, to make substantial progress in creating an efficient structure for and organisation of food production and distribution. We coordinate challenging projects and build international consortia. The quality of our work in reduction of post-harvest losses and supply-chain management is recognised around the world.
From logistics to quality inspection
Our focus is on sustainable fresh-food chains, international fresh-produce logistics and quality inspection - areas of expertise that are closely interconnected. We believe it is only with knowledge about the dynamics of fresh chains, product quality and post-harvest technology, that one can optimise performance in the supply chain and design sustainable supply chains. In addition, expertise in the areas of quality inspection, knowledge management and Information Technology allows the development of more-efficient and responsive supply chains. Innovations, achieved in collaboration with our customers, are diverse and include an infrastructure for efficient distribution of fresh products and a sensor chip that predicts the dynamic shelf life of food (Pasteur sensor tag).