Abstract:The interest to reduce food losses and wastes has grown considerably in order to guarantee adequate food for the fast growing population. A systematic review was used to show the potential of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) not only to identify and reduce food losses and wastes, but also as a way to establish links with nutrient retention in supply chains. The review compiled literature from 24 studies that applied VSM in the agri-food industry.Primary production, processing, storage, food service and/or consumption were identified as susceptible hotspots for losses and wastes. Results further revealed discarding and nutrient loss, most especially at the processing level, as the main forms of loss/waste in food, which were adapted to four out of seven lean manufacturing wastes (i.e. defect, unnecessary inventory, overproduction and inappropriate processing). This paper presents the state of the art of applying lean manufacturing practices in the agri-food industry by identifying lead time as the most applicable performance indicator. VSM was also found to be compatible with other lean tools such as Just-In-Time and 5S which are continuous improvement strategies, as well as simulation modelling that enhances adoption. In order to ensure successful application of lean practices aimed at minimizing food or nutrient losses and wastes, multistakeholder collaboration along the entire food supply chain is indispensable.

This study investigates the determining factors that drive sustainable performance through the application of management lean methods in the primary production segment of the horticultural supply chain for apples and pears. The determining factors, identified through a systematic review of the available literature, are thematically synthesized, conceptually framed and utilized for the development of a case study. The single case study approach is utilized to develop a detailed and nuanced understanding of the context, evaluating the practices of 4 cooperative primary producers operating within a forward integrated supply chain. The study posits that the combination of climatic and biophysical dynamism inherent in the primary producer environment, in combination with the inflexibility of seasonal batch production, imposes itself as a key barrier to the imposition of pull and flow in the chain, the fundamental tenets of a lean system. A case is outlined where cold infrastructure is employed to break the inflexibility of supply whilst a process of forward contracting establishes fruit orders up to 1-year in advance, beyond the forthcoming annual cycle, functionally transforming fruit cultivation within the group from a "push" to a "pull" system of production. It is further highlighted that functional partitioning of the organizational-chain structure is necessary to isolate and mitigate the effects of contextual dynamism, whereby downstream chain structures purposed for agility and responsiveness serve as a protective buffer to lean focused grower operations. The findings reaffirm the positive relationship between the size of the grower operation, the capacitation of the workforce and the ability of the operation to attain superior lean driven performance outcomes. However, it is severally highlighted that horizontal cooperation between primary producers may help overcome the resource limitations of smaller growers. Data based decision controls are marked as being centrally important sustainable performance determinant, both at the level of the grower, in terms of orchard management and harvest process control, as well as at the level of the cooperative serving the needs of crop programming and practice benchmarking processes. This exposition of determining factors driving lean sustainable performance in horticultural primary production represents a new contribution to the body of literature linking lean and sustainable organizational performance. The study should support further development of lean management research and practiced lean methods within the agri-food context.

The growing burden of food losses has intensified the need for reliable and comparable data. This study extends the application of lean manufacturing practices and uses Value Stream Mapping (VSM) analysis with the Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Accounting and Reporting Standard to identify hotspots and analyze the magnitude of both food and nutritional losses in the food value chain. A case study on the dairy value chain in Uganda is utilized to understand the production configuration (primary production, processing and distribution). Through linking hotspots where food loss in milk production takes place to specific salient reasons, this case provides an estimation of the magnitude of losses occurring in yogurt and UHT milk production lines. Findings reaffirm the processing stage as a principle hotspot for discarding yogurt as well as UHT milk products. Throughout processing, from start to finish, food losses at chain level are estimated to be in the magnitude of up to 14%. This also translates to a substantial nutritional value disappearing from the food system, which compromises the ability of people to meet their nutrient recommendations. The case study represents a pragmatic assessment that combines the mapping advantages of VSM with accounting and reporting guidelines of FLW Accounting and Reporting Standard to contribute to a detailed assessment of food and nutritional losses. Thereby, reinforcing initiation of evidence-based and targeted reduction strategies along food supply chains.

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