Perdas de alimentos nas centrais de abastecimento do Brasil: e a importância da hierarquia de recuperação dos alimentos

Abstract

In the food supply chain, losses turn around 35% of production is a global problem, and consequently comes the famine and the generation of waste. This percentage of food can suppress hunger, which has social, environmental and economic implications. In the world 800 million people go hungry and in Brazil they are 3.8% of the population, that is to say, approximately seven million people. With the losses are generated waste that has a negative effect with greater consequences when it is not recycled and destined to open air, dumps or landfills, the latter has limited useful life. The objective of this study is to quantify the losses of plant foods in the Brazilian Food Supply Centers to disseminate these figures and propose the use of the Food Recovery Hierarchy. The methodology used in the research, performed with the primary data collection through field research, with the application of a questionnaire with the heads of the Ceasas affiliated to the Brazilian Association of Ceasas - Abracen. The secondary data were obtained with the bibliographical and documentary research, based on scientific articles, dissertations, theses and legal and normative instruments. The classification, the steps, the methodological design and the variables and the indicators of the research are also presented. The results showed that the inorganic and organic residues represent, on average, 1.25% of the losses in the Ceasas surveyed. Of this percentage, 0.78% on average are organic waste. Regarding losses of plant foods, an average of 0.98% was recorded, although this percentage is low, representing a loss equivalent to 105 thousand tons of food per year. It is concluded that the Food Recovery Hierarchy in line with the ODS of Agenda 2030, proposed in this study, can be used to reduce the current impacts caused by food losses and waste generation in the Brazilian Food Supply Centers, whose numbers have been demonstrated and analyzed here, considering that the application of the Hierarchy is a possible solution to this problem.