S23 - Session O7 - The Horticulture Quality and Food Loss Network (HortQFLNet): expanding beyond the UK

Authors: Carol Wagstaff *, Leon Terry, Sofia Kourmpetli

Globally, over one third of food produced across the whole food chain is wasted. In the UK, 51% of the food wasted is lost before it even reaches consumers, during either the agriculture, post-harvest, distribution or processing stages. A significant proportion of food loss relates to the inherent physiology of the crops, poor control of post-harvest biology, and the efficacy and appropriateness of the control systems applied. The Horticulture Quality and Food Loss Network (HortQFLNet) was launched in January 2020 with three years' worth of funding (£500k) from UK Research and Innovation. The network aims to stimulate links between academics and industry, attract a new cohort of early career researchers, and commission a diverse range of projects to improve postharvest quality and reduce food loss of horticultural and potato crops. Membership is free and open to all researchers. Three funding calls to date have pump-primed research across multiple disciplines through support for > 20 UK-based projects, leading to the application of novel expertise to the challenges facing businesses from across the entire supply-chain while developing the next generation of researchers to address food security. Supply chains and causes of food loss are not, however, restricted to a single country and we would like to use the opportunity of the IHC conference to explore expansion of the HortQFLNet across the global postharvest community. In this paper we will outline our vision for how an expanded Network could operate, describe our ambition for its aims and invite dialogue with delegates on exploring funding mechanisms and ways to build an inclusive, innovative community of researchers.