Gerhard Schiefer – författare

Transparency for Sustainability in the Food Chain lays out the key issues and challenges in food safety, food quality, chain integrity, the link with consumers, and the technological base of tracking and tracing systems. This succinct volume brings readers up to speed on the state of the art in these areas, and the research trends in specific domains.Transparency in the food sector, especially to consumers, is one of the priority issues on the agenda of consumer policy representatives. Food scandals and deficiencies in consumer communication have drawn increasing demands for food policies that ensure that food is safe and of the quality consumers expect. Further, consumers increasingly expect that food production processes limit negative impacts on the environment and consider social concerns.Moving toward improved transparency requires action by stakeholders of the food chain but also knowledge on where and how to move. Researchers and professionals working in food sourcing, regulation, safety, and distribution will benefit from this clear overview.

This book features five peer-reviewed reviews on optimising agri-food supply chains.The first chapter provides an overview of agri-food supply chains and explores the unique characteristics which differentiate them from other manufacturing supply chains. The chapter also provides a framework for designing future agri-food supply chains.The second chapter reviews recent advances in agri-food traceability systems and technologies, as well as barriers to their implementation. The chapter also explores possible improvement pathways and policy interventions to promote deployment of advanced food traceability systems.The third chapter considers food governance and how it frames crisis management and product recalls in food supply chains. The chapter also addresses the use of Blockchain systems within public-private partnerships for food governance.The fourth chapter highlights the causes of food losses and waste (FLW) and outlines strategies to prevent/reduce FLW along the supply chain, including investments, good practices, behavioural changes and coordination within the food chain.The final chapter explores the role of decision support systems in improving data management in agri-food supply chains. The chapter also provides an overview of organisational models used in data communication along the supply chain.

When relations are facilitated by communication technologies such as e-business, food supply networks can improve efficiency, flexibility and effectiveness. However, a lack of trust within such transactions can prevent the integration of e-business into this large, economic sector. Using case studies from European countries, chapters discuss trust-building methods for food networks in an e-business environment. Key issues include the influence of cultural disparity and cross-border transactions upon major product groups such as meat, cereal products and fresh produce.