![]() ![]() The authors declare no conflict of interest. In addition, mishandling while loading and unloading at distributor facilities generates friction or exposes F&V to moisture, thus compromising the integrity of F&V and their durability. ![]() Such a stance favors the deterioration process, especially for tomatoes, bananas, papayas, and onions. ![]() The unfavorable socioeconomic factors in some parts of an emerging country may lead entrepreneurs not to invest in better transportation and handling. This practice may accelerate F&V deterioration. During this ride, the distributor usually mixes, in the same truck, items that require different temperatures for conservation. Transportation to the retailer constitutes another problem. These observations also indicated that only a few distributors handled F&V with care, used pallets to avoid contact with floor moisture, or performed reasonable temperature controlling. The researchers’ direct observations confirmed this finding (triangulation). ResultsĪccording to the interviewees, the lack of attention paid to handling or transportation may damage products. Integrity was assured through anonymity and adherence to ethical standards. The revised documents were then presented to the interviewees. The results were coded to compare and contrast them with the elements extracted from the literature. This analysis aimed to identify similarities and differences between the interviewees, and the reasons for these similarities/differences. After analyzing each case individually, a cross-case analysis was performed using ATLAS TI software. ![]() This analysis was carried out over three days, including all evidence collected. The attention paid to reliability was based on the benefits of these actions in reducing food waste, while confirmability was related to the individual analysis of each case. The validation of results and transferability were ensured by investigating managers or entrepreneurs that had developed actions to mitigate F&V waste. Generalizability was addressed by selecting professionals who worked with distributors of similar sizes. The finding analysis allowed us to obtain a better understanding of the topic. We need to know how to improve small actors’ gains to increase sales of such products. Selling items before their decline avoids waste. We should also know how to induce entrepreneurs to invest in better resources or practices in transportation, handling, packaging, and storage. We need to know how to calculate the economic gains and losses related to waste reduction throughout the chain (before developing useful mitigators). Changing such acceptance requires the demonstration of financial gain that a more sustainable approach may have. The acceptance of waste by farmers and distributors has a financial reason. Sectoral entities should use these data to help actors define how much to plant or buy. We should know how to collect and process the relevant data to forecast the demand of each small farmer or distributor (e.g., tendencies in market demands or other farmers’ planting plans). The surplus in farmer planting increases waste generation at the level of distributors. The findings contribute to the literature by showing several research gaps. Fifteen Brazilian distributors operating far from the producers were analyzed. This qualitative study investigated the gaps that hinder fruit and vegetable waste reduction in small distributors serving the last miles of the food chain. ![]()
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