Capacity Building to Reduce Avoidable Food Losses in Micro-, Small and Medium Food Processing Enterprises and Food Waste in Retail

Across the globe, an estimated 13.2 % of food is lost in the supply chain from post-harvest, up to but not including the retail stage. An additional 17 % is wasted in retail, in households and in food services (FAO, 2019). Food loss and food waste have significant economic, social and environmental impacts.     

In Thailand, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) account for approximately 99% of businesses in the food sector, playing a crucial role in ensuring food and nutrition security. By influencing the availability, access, and stability of food supplies, MSMEs significantly benefit low-income households in both rural and urban areas. These enterprises rely heavily on labor and employ a large portion of the unskilled workforce.

However, many MSMEs lack awareness of food loss and waste and its implications for business profitability and environmental sustainability. Limited knowledge, inadequate data collection systems, low technological adoption, and insufficient skills contribute to food loss and waste and reduce the quality of their products. The absence of data on food loss and waste in Thai MSMEs necessitated a comprehensive approach to address these challenges.

The project involved collaboration between the national government, provincial governments, academic institutions, and the FAO. Provincial governments provided human resources, while an academic institution served as a bridge between stakeholders, implementing field activities.

The project’s direct beneficiaries included the government, food processing MSMEs and small-scale farmers and fishers who supplied raw material inputs. Broader benefits extended to food processing MSMEs nationwide through awareness campaigns and targeted training programmes.

Key activities included:

• Data Collection and Analysis: A survey covering 195 MSMEs in 66 of Thailand’s 77 provinces captured qualitative data on food loss and waste in five sub-sectors. Analysis identified key causes and technological needs to tackle food loss in processing and distribution operation sand food waste in retail. 
• Strategy Development: Findings from the survey informed the creation of a Draft National Strategy for reducing food loss in processing and distribution operations in MSMEs, and food waste in retail.    
• Capacity Building: Training for 25 representative MSMEs developed their ability to identify, measure and reduce food loss and waste using simple technological innovations and good practices.
• Training Manual Development: A comprehensive manual was produced to support MSMEs in reducing food loss and waste sustainably, toward generating economic, social and environmental benefits.

Reduction of food loss and waste: 

• Implementing good practices and simple technological innovations that improved process control together with packaging technologies led to food loss reductions of 20 % for fishery products, to 31 % for meat products, 33 % for snack foods,
• 41 % for rice and 44 % for dairy products. Improvements in storage reduced food waste by 35% for rice and 12% for fishery products.

Economic, social and environmental benefits: 

• As well reducing food loss and waste, product quality was improved through better process control, both of which contributed to enhanced economic returns for MSMEs.
• As compliance with national food standards was enabled, product shelf-life, increasing the availability of culturally accepted foods in local markets.  Donations of edible but defective food products also supported low-income households. 
• Circular strategies, such as upcycling edible by-products and diverting unavoidable food losses (such as peels, etc.) from landfills for use instead as feed, reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The National Strategy developed during the project was endorsed by government officials. It identifies key agencies and institutions to lead ongoing food loss and waste reduction efforts, with private sector interest in its implementation. Data, case studies, and lessons learned have been compiled into a technical manual, serving as a resource for scaling up food loss and waste reduction initiatives.