Anne Clausen defends her PhD thesis
Anne Clausen defends her PhD thesis "Food Loss Within Denmark’s Public Food Procurement System".
The defence is public, and everybody is welcome.
Follow the defense online via Zoom >
Department of People and Technology will host a small reception afterwards.
Supervisors and assessment
Assessment committee:
- Ute Walter, Associate tt备用网址, PhD, ?rebro University, Sweden
- Toke Haunstrup Christensen, senior researcher, PhD, Aalborg Universitet, Denmark
- Henrik Hauggaard-Nielsen, professor, Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University (chair)
Supervisors:
- Niels Heine Kristensen, professor, Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University (Main supervisor)
- Stine Rosenlund Hansen, associate professor, Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University (co-supervisor)
Abstract
This thesis is the result of a comprehensive, four-year, co-creative research project in Denmark. It was conducted in collaboration with project partners from Roskilde University, Copenhagen Municipality, H?rkram Foodservice A/S, and Dansk Cater A/S. The study explores the systemic nature of food loss in public food procurement, examining the interconnections between contractual requirements, procurement practices, and food loss.
Using ethnographic fieldwork, participatory methods such as a Community of Practice, and a Living Lab experiment, the research examines how structural, cultural, and material conditions contribute to food loss in the supply chain. Findings demonstrate that rigid contractual quality standards, short ordering deadlines, and entrenched procurement routines reinforce food loss by creating inflexible supply chain dynamics. Wholesalers navigate stringent quality assurance practices that institutionalize perfection, leaving little room for seasonal variation in fresh produce. At the same time, public kitchens maintain deeply embedded ordering routines, originally designed for their flexibility but now contributing to overstocking at the wholesale level.
Moreover, the study reveals that public procurement contract negotiations play a crucial role in determining whether sustainability ambitions translate into practical, enforceable procurement criteria. Through market dialogue and cross-sectoral collaboration, stakeholders can refine procurement frameworks to align political sustainability goals with real-world supply chain constraints. However, this study also reveals tensions between competition and collaboration within procurement processes, as well as the challenges of balancing transparency with commercial sensitivities in a cross-sectoral research setting.
This thesis contributes to food studies by conceptualizing food loss as a systemic issue shaped by procurement structures, contractualized time constraints and quality standards, and embedded cultural practices. It suggests that addressing food loss requires rethinking procurement criteria and fostering cross-sectoral collaboration and broader dialogue.
Ultimately, this research highlights the need for procurement systems that account for sustainability and food loss reduction, paving the way for a more resilient and responsible public food system. This research highlights that integrating more flexible quality parameters, extending ordering deadlines, and reclassifying highloss products into alternative procurement categories can help reduce food loss while maintaining operational efficiency.