• Project title and reference: Optimizing the value chain of fresh fruit and vegetable sector from a holistic perspective: analysis of environmental, social and economic life cycle. (Karp0-LIFE)

• Funding institution: Ministerior de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. Programa Estatal de I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad, RTI2018-099139-B-C21

• Participants: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM),  Universidad de Cartagena, Huercasa, SupraCafé

• Duration: 3 years                      Commenced: 1st January 2020

• Principal researcher: , ETSIAAB, UPM 

SUMMARY:  The fresh whole fruit and vegetables (F&V) sector has a great impact on the economy and generation of employment in our country. Annually, one third of all world food produced for human consumption is lost, amounting to approximately 1,300 million tons. Fresh F&V are living organisms and are highly perishable products with a very short shelf life, so the proper management and implementation of new technologies, from the field to the distributor, will provide a reduction in food loss and an improvement of the environmental impact. In this project we will approach the study of four horticultural products plus the fresh-cut industry. In a first phase, real quantification of inventories (raw material, energy, economic flows, emissions to the atmosphere, by-products, economic flows, etc.) will be colleted from field, packaging houses, transport and distribution stages, necessary for the determination indicators related to product quality and the establishment of the shelf life (subproject 1) and the environmental, economic, and social impacts (subproject 2). In a second phase, new technologies will be implemented, mainly focused on the control, monitoring and sensorization of the parameters (temperature, HR, CO2, O2, C2H4) that affect the overall quality (microbiological, sensory and nutritional) of F&V. In addition, alternative strategies such as "Zero Packaging", Zero km", reverse logistics for waste management and the use of by-products from the fresh-cut industry will be studied. The potential of these strategies will be evaluated with the objective to optimize the value chain of the F&V sector, reducing food losses, obtaining quality and shelf life of the product based on the real conditions according is encountered at each stage. 

MAIN OBJECTIVE:

• The general objective of Karp0-LIFE is to evaluate the different stages of fresh F&V supply chain through the quantification of food loss, evaluation of food quality and safety, and knowing the environmental, economic and socioeconomic impact, in order to correct or implement new technologies and/or strategies and obtain a sustainability fresh F&V sector.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• 1. Definition of the supply chain for each fresh F&V product, considering the specifications of each one.

• 2. Quantification of F&V inventories for the conventional scenarios described in the objective 1 that will serve as a basis for the determination of indicators.

• 3. Analysis of life cycle (environmental, social, economic and socio-economic), establishment of quality and shelf life in the conventional scenarios described in objective 2.

• 4. Implementation and data capture of advanced scenarios (using new technologies/strategies) in the supply chain of the selected fresh F&V products.

• 5. Analysis of life cycle (environmental, social, economic and socio-economic), establishment of quality and dynamic life in the novel scenarios described in objective 4.

• 6. Conclusions and definition of the most sustainable strategies for the F&V industry.

• 7. Dissemination of results, exploitation and protection of innovation and technology transfer to the fresh F&V sector.