Information Communication Tools in Alternative Food Networks

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CC BY-NC-ND licence, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Effective communication in food supply chains is increasingly important, especially in supply chains that strive to provide improved levels of information from producer to consumer. Such supply chains can be found in alternative food networks. Alternative food networks often adopt local and short supply chain strategies to provide embedded information between producers and consumers. Information in the supply chain of alternative food networks is communicated through face-to-face, proximate, or extended supply chain structures. The tools used to communicate information vary amongst the supply chains in alternative food networks; for example, face-to-face may adopt word-of-mouth, while proximate and extended supply chain structures may use labels, digital platforms, and websites. This paper uses Principal Component Analysis to provide an understanding of the categories and underlying dimensions of information communication tools in the supply chains of alternative food networks. A living lab approach and survey method were used for data collection. Using Principal Component Analysis, the data revealed two principal components of information communication tools, highlighting the use of on-packaging information communication tools such as packaging and labelling tools as a principal component. Another principal component was identified, backing a need for off-packaging information communication tools such as digital technologies, certificates, social media, and packaging technologies, enabling stakeholders who desire a further understanding of information regarding the processes and products. The paper concludes with the implications, limitations, and areas of future work.Peer reviewe

Determining key research areas for healthier diets and sustainable food systems in Viet Nam

Vietnamese food systems are undergoing rapid transformation, with important implications for human and environmental health and economic development. Poverty has decreased, and diet quality and undernutrition have improved significantly since the end of the Doi Moi reform period (1986-1993) as a result of Viet Nam opening its economy and increasing its regional and global trade. Yet poor diet quality is still contributing the triple burden of malnutrition, with 25 percent stunting among children under age 5, 26 percent and 29 percent of women and children, respectively, anemic, and 21 percent of adults overweight. Agricultural production systems have shifted from predominantly diverse smallholder systems to larger more commercialized and specialized systems, especially for crops, while the ‘meatification’ of the Vietnamese diet is generating serious trade-offs between improved nutrition and sustainability of the Vietnamese food systems. The food processing industry has developed rapidly, together with food imports, resulting in new and processed food products penetrating the food retail outlets, trending towards an increase in the Westernized consumption patterns that are shifting nutrition-related problems towards overweight and obesity and, with it, an increase of non-communicable disease-related health risks. While regulatory policies exist across the food system, these are not systematically implemented, making food safety a major concern for consumers and policy makers alike. Where data exists, it is not easy to aggregate with data from across food system dimensions, making it difficult for Viet Nam to make an informed analysis of current and potential food system trade-offs. In our research, we reviewed existing literature and data, and applied a food systems framework to develop an initial food systems profile for Viet Nam and to identify a comprehensive set a of research questions to fill current data gaps identified through the review. Insights on these would provide the comprehensive evidence needed to inform policy makers on how to develop new food systems policies for Viet Nam, and further refine and improve existing policies to achieve better quality diets and more sustainable food systems in Viet Nam. Based on these, we then engaged with stakeholders to develop research priorities in the Viet Nam context and identified 25 priority research questions. This paper aims to stimulate such reflections by clearly outlining key areas for research, government policy, and development programs on priority investment to build the evidence base around inclusive food systems interventions that aim to result in healthier diets and more sustainable food systems for Viet Nam

Blockchain Enabled Quality Management in Short Food Supply Chains

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0).Food system (re)localisation involves moving food systems back to local areas and a result are the short food supply chains. Food system (re)localisation is occurring to offset the perceived negative impacts of global food systems. Short food supply chains may face challenges in terms of quality set at national and international levels. Short food supply chains will benefit from technologies that can be developed to meet specific requirements which can be significantly different from those in conventional level food supply chains. One such digital technology is blockchain. This paper aims to present a blockchain based quality management architecture developed for short food supply chains. Requirements for the blockchain architecture are based on existing literature on quality management in food supply chains, with an emphasis on the specifics of quality and re-localisation in short food supply chains. Also considered in the architecture are the characteristic features of blockchain, with some emphasis on trust management and smart contracts. The adoption considerations regarding the resulting architecture are highlighted. It is concluded that the architecture has features relevant to the short food supply chain that differs from conventional food supply chains. Future work regarding implementation and validation of the architecture developed is suggested.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Versproducten onder merknaam hebben de toekomst

Het belang en nut van merken voor de land- en tuinbouw stond centraal op 13 juni jl. tijdens het congres Merkbaar Vers. De verwachting is dat over 10 jaar de meeste groente- en fruitsoorten een merknaam zullen dragen

Merkbaar vers: versmerken in de retail

Versafdelingen zijn van vitaal belang voor de retail. Toch hebben versmerken tot nu toe maar moeilijk een positie in het retailkanaal kunnen opbouwen. Er zijn vrijwel geen A-merken in vers. Tijdens het tweede congres Merkbaar Vers stonden de opties voor versmerken in het retailkanaal centraal

A review of supply chain quality management practices in sustainable food networks

© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Supply chain quality management practices are necessary to improve processes, meet consumer quality needs, and enhance supply chain quality management performance in sustainable food networks. Food supply chain quality management and associated practices are considerably studied in global food systems, less so for alternative food networks. There are salient differences between global food systems and alternative food networks, which may reflect on the applicable supply chain quality management practices in the food systems and networks. This paper reviews the literature on supply chain quality management practices, with a focus on alternative food networks. A systematic literature review methodology is adopted, resulting in the analysis of seventy-eight papers, identifying a total of one hundred and three supply chain quality management practices. The identified supply chain quality management practices were analysed in relation to their link to a) place, production, and producer and b) link to (bio)processes. Emerging themes from the analysis are discussed, and some areas of future research were put forward.Peer reviewe

Retail diversity for dietary diversity: Resolving food-safety versus nutrition priorities in Hanoi

Amid rapidly transforming urban food environments, Asia’s cities are faced with the dilemma of ensuring food and nutrition security for their populations while also combatting food-safety concerns. The current food environment in Hanoi, Viet Nam, only provides a minimal level of diet quality for the urban poor. Modernization policies aim to improve food safety by promoting the closure of open-air markets in favour of supermarkets and convenience stores. Traditional open-air markets are the urban population’s main source of food and ensure a healthy diet, but they do not offer formal food-safety guarantees. In contrast, modern retail outlets, such as supermarkets and convenience stores, provide foods with safety guarantees, but are not utilized by the urban poor for myriad reasons, including cultural shopping preferences, habits and convenience (hours of operation, formality, cost and perceived freshness). Though designed to increase the consumption of safe foods in Hanoi, these modern outlets may also stimulate the consumption of unhealthy ultra-processed foods and reinforce food-access inequality. The continued closure of traditional open-air markets in favour of modern retail outlets may be jeopardizing the future diet quality of Hanoi’s urban poor. We recommend that food-safety policies embrace the existing diversity of local food retail systems and identify opportunities to improve food safety at open-air fresh food markets

De invloed van meerwaarde van biologische producten op consumentenaankopen : consumentenperceptie van biologische producten in de supermarkt

In-store consumentenonderzoek naar de perceptie van prijs en meerwaarde van biologische producten ten opzichte van gangbare producten onder wekelijkse kopers en incidentele kopers van biologische producten en kopers van gangbare voedingsmiddelen. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd in tien plaatsen in Nederland waar, in het kader van het Prijsexperiment biologische producten, de prijs van biologische producten gedurende een periode van vier maanden is verlaag

Twee weten meer dan een : Eindrapportage

Het AKK project Twee Weten Meer Dan Een wil de belangrijkste kennisthema’s en bijbehorende doelgroepen in biologische afzetketens identificeren en nagaan welke kennisverspreidingsactiviteiten, zowel binnen de projecten als binnen de biologische keten het meeste effect hebben. Behoefte en interesse vanuit de biologische sector voor de onderwerpen moet hierin centraal staan. In een eerste behoeftepeiling is met deskresearch en bij projectparticipanten, belangenbehartigers en bedrijven uit de biologische keten de kennisbehoefte geïnventariseerd. Welke kennis is anno 2003/2004 interessant en belangrijk, welke thema’s achten zij actueel voor de biologische keten en hoe vergaren ze bij voorkeur deze kennis? Deze behoeftepeiling heeft drie centrale thema’s geïdentificeerd: 1. Thema Consument: Meerwaarde biologisch en consumentenbehoeften (hoe aansluiting te vinden bij de behoeften van consumenten en aan te spreken op het moment van aankoop): communicatie in de keten! 2. Thema Kwaliteit: Ketenbeheersing van Kwaliteit 3. Thema Samenwerking: Proceskennis voor samenwerking in de kete

Livestock density as risk factor for livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the Netherlands

To determine whether persons living in areas of high animal density are at increased risk for carrying livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA), we used an existing dataset of persons in the Netherlands with LA-MRSA carriage and controls who carried other types of MRSA. Results of running univariate and multivariate logistic regression models indicated that living in livestock-dense areas increases the odds of nasal carriage of LA-MRSA. We found that doubling pig, cattle, and veal calf densities per municipality increased the odds of LA-MRSA carriage over carriage of other types of MRSA by 24.7% (95% CI 0.9%–54.2%), 76.9% (95% CI 11.3%–81.3%), and 24.1% (95% CI 5.5%–45.9%), respectively, after adjusting for direct animal contact, living in a rural area, and the probable source of MRSA carriage. Controlling the spread of LA-MRSA thus requires giving attention to community members in animal-dense regions who are unaffiliated with livestock farming