Food Losses And Losses Literature Review

LITERATURE REVIEW

FOOD LOSSES AND WASTES

Globally, almost one-third of food produced for human consumption, that is, approximately 1.3 billion tonnes per year is either lost or wasted. The reduction of food losses and wastes (FLW) is essential for food security (HLPE, 2011; FAO, 2012a, b) and for reduction of environmental footprint of food systems (HLPE, 2012; FAO, 2012a, b). This is because FLW results in a waste of resources, and also has a significant greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. For example, the global carbon footprint as a result of food wastage, excluding GHG emissions from land use change, has been estimated at 3.3 Gtonnes of CO2 equivalent (Vermeulen, 2012). Food losses occur in supply chains from the time of harvest and collection,

Though it is native from the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate zones of America, it is now widespread in tropical and warmer temperate regions between about 45°N and 40°S (Diener et al., 2011). The adult fly is black, wasp-like and 15-20 mm long (Hardouin and Mahoux, 2003). The larvae have a dull whitish color and can reach up to 27 mm in length and 6 mm in width and weigh up to 220 mg in their last stage (Diclaro and Kaufman, 2009). They can also feed quickly and on a wide range of decaying organic materials, such as rotting fruits and vegetables, coffee bean pulp, distillers grains, fish offal and particularly animal manure and human excreta (Hardouin and Mahoux, 2003; Diener et al., 2011; van Huis et al., 2013). In appropriate conditions, larvae become mature in 2 months, but can also stay longer in case of food inadequacy (Hardouin and Mahoux, 2003). At the end of the larval stage, the larva stops to feed and move and also empties itself of its digestive contents, and the prepupae searches for a dry pupation site. At this stage, the prepupae are at their maximum size, containing large protein (36–48%) and fat (31–33%) enough to sustain them through metamorphosis (Hale, 1973; St‐Hilaire et al., 2007b; Stamer, 2005). The pupal stage lasts for about 14 days and can also extend up to 5 months. The females mate two days after emergence and lay eggs close to a feed source (Hardouin and Mahoux, 2003, Diener et al., 2011). The adults do not eat but they rely on the fats stored from the larval stage (Diclaro and Kaufman, 2009). The black soldier fly is an extremely resistant species and has the ability to cope in severe environmental conditions like drought, food shortage or oxygen deficiency (Diener et al.,