Analys av materialflöden och karakterisering av matsvinn och matförluster i mejeri- och spannmålssystem på nationell nivå i Sverige

Food loss and waste (FLW) represents a critical challenge as it is undermining efforts to achieve food security and environmental sustainability. As one third of all produced food is wasted globally, there is an urgent need to reduce the resource depletion as well as finding ways to feed a growing population. With the aim to map and analyse food loss and waste towards circular food provisioning, the study quantifies the food loss and waste (FLW) in grain and dairy systems through material flow analysis on a national level in Sweden. Characteristics of the FLW, such as composition, temporal variation, potential valorisation, are identified and discussed. Furthermore, FLW management is analysed by report analysis to obtain an overview of the current measure situation. Consequences and barriers of reintroduction and management improvement are also investigated based on current measures in companies. As the waste flows in each system and their subsystems are mapped, the characteristics of the waste has been identified. In both systems, manufacturing processes has been the biggest contributor to the FLW in the supply chain. This has further been analysed by identifying how well the manufacturers have integrated BAT to reduce the waste. It is further evident that companies have been able to integrate some BAT into their production, but also have future opportunities to reuse, recycle and reduce their loss and waste. Different measures have further been discussed, such as mitigating risks related to temporal variation by diversification. Furthermore, how the complexity and difficulty of FLW quantification and characterisation can be managed. A potential solution is to consider the total FLW mass, the characteristics (nutrient content) and feasibility of improvement at the same time to achieve efficient management and circularity.