Tag: food waste

Guest Post: Packaging Food– Production, Inventory, Training

Prof. Howard Weiss raises an interesting issue that can save consumers and companies money.

Most discussions of OM focus on creating products and services. However, Chapter 5 of your Heizer/Render/Munson textbook reminds us that product design also includes developing packaging to prevent damage and ensure safety.  One packaging issue that is important is the date labels found on food products. 

A report on food waste found that more than 50 different date labels are used on packaged foods sold in the U.S. The types of labels can be classified as

Label Type Example
Quality Best By
Safety-Oriented Discard After
Production and Packaging Pack Date
Storage and Handling Freeze By
Freshness-Focused Fresh Until
Retail and Inventory Last Date of Sale
Specialty Product Harvest Date

 

The use of these labels is largely unregulated. With the exception of infant formula, federal law does not require manufacturers to place date labels on food products. Further, manufacturers are generally free to choose whichever terminology they prefer. This lack of consistency often leads consumers to discard perfectly safe food, increasing household costs and contributing to unnecessary food waste.

Recognizing this problem, California became the first state to standardize food date labeling with a law that just went into effect and applies to all food products sold within the state. Products sold outside the state are exempt. The law is aimed at reducing food waste and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The expected benefits are substantial. Standardized labels should reduce consumer confusion, preventing the premature disposal of safe food and eliminating an estimated 70,000 tons of food waste annually in California. Consumers and retailers should also realize significant economic savings through reduced waste, while fewer discarded food products will lower methane emissions from landfills and benefit the environment.

These regulations have important implications for manufacturers, processors, and retailers. Companies selling products in California must comply with the new requirements by requiring packaging redesigns that use only the standardized “Best If Used By” and “Use By” labels and prohibiting “sell by” dates. Employees will require training and must also be able to explain the new system accurately to customers. Finally, inventory management systems and stock rotation procedures must be updated to ensure products are handled according to the new labeling standards. 

Classroom Discussion Questions

  1. How can you tell if food is safe after its “Use or freeze by” date? 
  2. Does your state have laws regarding packaging labels?

Guest Post: Looking Beyond Fuel–The Strait of Hormuz’s Connection to the Food Supply Chain

Temple U. Professor Misty Blessley raises a timely issue with her monthly Guest Post.

The Strait of Hormuz closure highlights a risk far greater than rising gasoline prices. The world is facing a potential fertilizer shock that could ripple through the global food supply chain. While headlines often focus on oil, the Strait is also a critical corridor for nitrogen-based fertilizers, especially urea, which depends heavily on natural gas as a feedstock.

Roughly 1/3 of global seaborne fertilizer normally moves through this chokepoint. With passage through the Strait at a standstill, the concern is whether farmers will have access to adequate and affordable fertilizer during this planting season.

Fertilizer and fuel are deeply intertwined. Nitrogen fertilizer is produced by converting natural gas into ammonia. Any disruption in gas supply immediately constrains fertilizer production. Thus, when the Strait is shut down, fertilizer producers will follow in turn. It is reported that nitrogen fertilizer supports approximately half of the global population.

Scotts MiracleGro struggled to keep store shelves stocked during the COVID era demand surge, underscoring how long it can take for a disrupted supply chain to regain equilibrium. This is where the risk becomes acute. Corn, wheat, and rice, major food sources the world over, are among the most nitrogen-hungry crops. Countries that rely heavily on imported fertilizer,
such as India, Brazil, China and the U.S., are especially vulnerable with vast amounts of fertilizer originating in the Middle East. A prolonged disruption could mean lower crop yields, eventually leaving empty space on grocery shelves.

The Strait’s closure is rippling into a food security crisis in slow motion.

Classroom Discussion Questions:
1. Effective risk management requires visibility into every material, its origin, and each step of the production process along the supply chain. How can AI be leveraged to help map these dependencies, identify vulnerabilities, and strengthen risk mitigation strategies? (Refer to Chapter 11 of the Heizer/Render/Munson textbook Figure 11.1 as a multi-tier supply chain example).
2. It is widely estimated that as much as 40% of all food produced is lost or wasted somewhere along the supply chain. Identify organizations working to reduce food waste and discuss what would be required to scale their solutions effectively.
3. In your opinion, is reducing food waste a viable mitigation strategy?

 

OM in the News: Europe Tells Textile Producers to Manage Their Own Waste

Producers that sell textiles in the European Union will have to cover the cost of collecting, sorting and recycling those materials, under a new directive to reduce waste in the fashion industry. The EU is adopting a new law whereby producers will have to oversee the management of waste from clothing to blankets to curtains, reports The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 11, 2025). The directive covers the full life cycle of a product and aims to motivate producers to “reduce waste and increase the circularity of textile products,” since they will be bearing the cost of managing that waste.

EU Pushes Rules for Circular Economy

The EU is looking to reduce the environmental impact of the fast-fashion industry. Some 12.6 million tons of textile waste are generated in the EU each year. It estimates that just 1% of textiles are recycled worldwide.

 The law will apply to all producers, including those using e-commerce tools and irrespective of whether they are established in an EU country or outside the bloc. Smaller companies will have an additional year to comply with the requirements.

“This legislation will accelerate the move towards circular business models and more sustainable consumption,” said a recycling consultant. “The requirements will bring added costs and operational pressures for producers at a time when many are already under strain.”

Elsewhere, the EU is to set new targets on food waste. From 2031, member states will be required to reduce food waste generated during processing and manufacturing by 10%, while the target for shops, restaurants and households will be 30%. Every year, almost 60 million tons of food waste, amounting to about 291 pounds per person, is created within the EU.

Classroom discussion questions:

  1. Supplement 5 in your Heizer/Render/Munson text introduces the term “circular economy.” What does that mean and how does it apply in this EU case?
  2. Discuss the OM implications of this new directive? Does it impact U.S. firms?

OM Podcast #18: An Inside Look at the U.S. Food Supply Chain

In our latest podcast Barry speaks with Don Durm, VP of Customer Solutions at PLM Fleet, the largest refrigerated trailer leasing and rental company in the US.  Barry and Don discuss many issues affecting the US food supply chain such as mislabeling, food safety, and food waste.  Don shares some of the innovative things the government and food industry are doing to try to address many of these problems.

 

 

Transcript

A Word document of this podcast will download by clicking the word Transcript above.

Instructors, assignable auto-graded exercises using this podcast are available in MyLab OM.  See our  earlier blog post with a recording of author and user Chuck Munson to learn how to find these, or contact your Pearson rep to learn more!  https://www.pearson.com/en-us/help-and-support/contact-us/find-a-rep.html