Page 72 - FoodFocusThailand No.243 July 2026

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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA):

TURNING HIDDEN COSTS INTO OPPORTUNITIES

FOR PROFIT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Today, the food and beverage industry faces increasing challenges arising from rising raw material and
energy costs, supply chain disruptions, and growing sustainability expectations from consumers and
business partners. Amid these pressures, there remains a “hidden cost” embedded throughout production
processes: food loss and food waste. Many organizations continue to regard these losses as a normal cost
of doing business.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of production systems (Agricultural Research Development Agency
the United Nations (FAO), approximately one-third of all food (Public Organization), 2021). Examples include damage during
produced globally, around 1.3 billion tonnes annually, is lost or transportation, trimming residues, expired raw materials in
wasted (FAO, 2019). Beyond the economic consequences, if storage, and products that fail to meet quality standards. Food
food loss and food waste were considered a country, it would Waste, on the other hand, refers to food that remains suitable
rank as the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, for use or consumption but is discarded at the later stages of
generating approximately 4.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide the supply chain. Within the industrial sector, this often includes
equivalent each year (Scialabba, 2015). overproduction, products that do not meet specifications, or
Every kilogram of food lost represents not only wasted products that expire while in storage (Agricultural Research
raw materials but also wasted water, energy, labor, and profit. Development Agency (Public Organization), 2021).
Therefore, reducing food loss and food waste is not merely
an environmental initiative; it is a business strategy that can Life Cycle Assessment (LCA):
lower costs, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen A Key Tool for Efficient Resource Management
long-term competitiveness. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method used to evaluate the
environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its
Food Loss and Food Waste: entire life cycle, from raw material acquisition, production, and
Understanding the Difference transportation to use and final disposal, following the framework
Although both terms refer to the loss of food, they occur at established under ISO 14040. LCA provides valuable insights
different stages of the supply chain. Food Loss refers to the for food businesses in three key dimensions:
reduction in food quantity or quality occurring during the early 1. Revealing Hidden Costs
and middle stages of the supply chain, such as harvesting, LCA helps identify costs that are often overlooked within
transportation, processing, and storage. These losses are production processes, including excessive energy consumption,
often caused by technical limitations or inefficiencies within production waste, high water usage, transportation costs, and
waste disposal expenses.
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