Drivers, Prevention Strategies and Solution Pathways for Food Loss and Waste
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Security and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 August 2026 | Viewed by 234
Special Issue Editors
Interests: food waste; consumer behavior; food reusable packages
Interests: innovative packaging materials and technologies; food shelf-life extension; food waste reduction; sustainability; agricultural waste upcycling; encapsulation and controlled release of volatile compounds; interface between packaging and consumers; e-commerce food packaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Food loss and waste remain persistent challenges undermining food security, environmental sustainability, and supply-chain efficiency worldwide. This Special Issue brings together interdisciplinary research that advances understanding of the drivers of food loss and waste across production, processing, distribution, retail, and consumption stages. We particularly welcome contributions that examine behavioral, technological, organizational, and policy-related mechanisms, as well as innovative prevention strategies and solution pathways. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, packaging and preservation technologies, consumer behavior, supply-chain coordination, digital and data-driven interventions, economic incentives, and regulatory approaches. By integrating empirical evidence, analytical models, and practical insights, this Special Issue aims to inform scalable, actionable solutions that reduce food loss and waste while supporting sustainability and resilience across food systems.
Dr. Monireh Mahmoudi
Prof. Dr. Eva Almenar
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- food loss and waste
- consumer and household food waste
- behavioral drivers of food waste
- food waste prevention and mitigation strategies
- supply chain resilience
- sustainability interventions
- food waste behavior
- on-farm food loss
- retail and distribution food waste
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