Speaker
Description
Food loss and waste (FLW), often caused by plant pathogens in the field and after harvest, is a global challenge recognized by international governments and organizations. Reducing FLW is key to sustainably ensure nutritional food security for an increasing world population. It is a target of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and the Farm to Fork Strategy of the European Green Deal. Losses are considered the ones that occurs from the growers to the retailers, while waste occurs when the consumer is involved, from retailers to home or other food services. An integrated list of preharvest and postharvest treatments are important to preserve the fresh fruit and vegetables from the cultivation to the consumer home, that integrate use of decision supporting systems in the field for proper application of synthetic fungicides or alternatives (biocontrol agents, natural compounds, etc.), with a monitoring of isolates resistant to fungicides in the field and in the packinghouses and alternation of fungicides with a different mechanism of action, both in the field and even for the few fungicides allowed for postharvest application. The number of synthetic fungicides for growers is decreasing since a list of key products were banned, and they were not replaced. Register a new active ingredient in EU requires nowadays around 300 million Euro and 13 years, and these costs are still the same for biocontrol agents or natural compounds. To half the amount of synthetic pesticides used in plant protection within 2030, as planned by the Farm to Fork strategy, requires the application of all possible alternatives, including the basic substances, compounds used in human diet that can have an application in plant protection. Nowadays we have 26 registered basic substances, and some of them provide good results in the manage of plant diseases in the field and postharvest, and such number is expected to further increase. Another important issue is the cooperation of actors along the supply chain. Request of retailers of fruit and vegetables with a residue of pesticides even lower than legal threshold (maximum residue level) and of a number of residues very low (even 3 to 5) requires complex strategies in the field and in the packinghouse to reach such limits with risk to have a less protected produce and increase of FLW. Last, but not least, an appropriate behavior of the consumer is important to contribute with own actions to FLW reduction.
