Circular economy and the food sector: A systematic literature review

The circular economy (CE) paradigm aims to prevent environmental degradation while ensuring the economic and socialwell-being of the present and future generations. Recently, the CE has garnered rising interest from academics, managers, and policymakers, especially in the food sector. The CE can not only open up avenues for waste reduction, but the corporate players in the food sector also look forward to a CE to enhance customers' loyalty and trust. This paper maps the relatively novel but growing CE and food literature territory by systematically reviewing the studies. The analysis is carried out by integrating different interdisciplinary perspectives that lead to essential themes and sub-themes. The findings include that food waste management is a prominent theme in conjunction with the CE, followed by food packaging, resource nexus, policies and legislation, CE performance, CE principles in the food supply chain, transition challenges, and CE rebound & circular premium. Mapping the key themes and research gaps helps identify the strategic actions for managers and policymakers to transition from the traditional to a CE-based food sector. (C) 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The circular economy paradigm is gaining interest in the food sector for its benefits in waste reduction and enhancing customer loyalty. Food waste management is identified as a prominent theme in the context of circular economy.