Approaches of the German food industry for addressing the issue of food losses

In the food industry the subject of food losses is of great importance due to economic balance and an efficient application of resources as well as the development of an efficient food chain system. This paper presents the explorative results of a quantitative survey of leading companies of the German food industry to evaluate the relevance and handling of this issue. The investigation reveals that the topic food losses have a high significance in the food industry which will probably increase in future. A sample breakdown by branches indicates that the issue has the highest relevance for companies in the confectionery industry. These companies as well as those in the meat and fish industry want to consider the subject prospectively more powerful in their companies. Across the food industry, there is no communication to consumers of the efforts concerning food losses. And companies in the confectionery industry and in the fruit and vegetable industry rather want to engage more powerful in this topic if consumers' interest increases. But in order to minimize food losses at all stages along the supply chain, communication and collaboration at all stages is essential, especially the communication to consumers. Thus, it has to be verified whether a suitable communication can lead to advantages in competition and become an important issue for companies to differentiate from competitors. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.