Circular economy and sustainable practices in the food industry : a comprehensive bibliometric analysis

The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) prioritize halving global per capita food waste at retail, consumer, production, and food supply chain by 2030. This aligns with promoting circular economy principles for enhanced sustainability. The circular economy offers a transformative approach to the food industry by promoting environmental health, human well-being, and economic prosperity. This bibliometric analysis examines how circular economy principles can drive sustainability in food businesses, which closely aligning with SDGs 12.3 (food waste reduction), 12.5 (waste reduction), 13.2 (climate policy integration), and 13.3 (climate adaptation). Through a bibliometric analysis of 1000 relevant articles sourced from the Web of Science (spanning from 2005 to 2023), we evaluated the progress, challenges, and opportunities in this field. Utilizing analytical tools such as Biblioshiny (Bibliometrix) package of R-Studio and VOSviewer, the researchers identify key trends and research hotspots through thematic maps, co-occurrence networks, co-citation analysis, keyword analysis, and collaboration networks. This research highlights that the circular economy can transform the food industry by implementing sustainable waste management practices, optimizing supply chains and resource utilization to minimize environmental impact. Furthermore, research findings indicate that adopting circular economy principles in the food industry can significantly reduce waste and enhance resource efficiency by transforming food waste into valuable products such as biogas and bio-based materials. This study provides valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and government officials to improve sustainable food production systems. It enhances understanding in a vital area for guiding future endeavours to promote circular economy strategies for a more sustainable and efficient food industry.