Identifying the causes of loss and waste in the chicken meat supply chain

Food Loss and Waste (FLW), which are presented in the form of food waste, occur in different stages of the supply chain. One of the most important elements of managing food waste along the supply chain is to know the components and causes of this phenomenon. This study aims to Identify the causes of FLW in each stage of the chicken meat supply chain and provide strategies to reduce it. This study was conducted with a quantitative approach. The statistical population of the research consisted of all chicken meat producers in broiler chicken units related to integrated chicken meat supply chains in Mazandaran, Gilan and West Azerbaijan provinces (N = 820), and using Yamane's formula, the sample size was estimated to be 269 respondents. They were selected using available sampling. A questionnaire whose validity and reliability had been confirmed was used to collect data. To analyze the data, the technique of Hierarchical Component Models (HCM) was used according to the partial least squares (PLS) method. The results showed that among the seven causes of FLW, supply and demand changes are the most important causes of this phenomenon in the chicken meat supply chain. Also, weak infrastructures, lack of knowledge and skills, and weak operations and actions are among the other causes, respectively, with a slight difference. In this study, multiple strategies to reduce chicken meat waste are discussed based on the causes of its occurrence in each stage of the supply chain, which can be important for managers and planners.