– Modern supply chains collect and deliver products worldwide and link vendors and consumers over thousands of miles. In the food industry, the quality of products is affected by manufacturing/processing and logistics activities, such as transportation and packaging. Specifically, transportation is likely the most critical step throughout the “food journey” from farm to fork because of the potential stresses that affect the products during shipment and storage activities. The purpose of this paper is to present and apply an original assessment of quality, safety and environmental effects due to the international distribution of food products via different container solutions. A case study that examines the shipment of edible oils from Italy to Canada demonstrates that the quality of a product at the place of consumption can be significantly affected by the use of different containers.

Design/methodology/approach

Findings

The proposed approach and the illustrated case study demonstrate the importance of conducting safety and quality assessment combined with environmental analyses of sustainable food supply chains.