Quality-Based Clustering of Food Products for Customized Food Logistics

Perishability and quality deterioration over time makes food differ from industrial products. The objective of this research is to describe the food quality from a logistics perspective and specify which characteristics of food products are necessary to consider in designing food logistics. These characteristics include food sensory factors, food safety factors, packaging, and the interaction of all these factors with the surrounding environment which can occur related to the logistics processes. According to the results, food products are suggested to be divided into 6 major groups based on their similarity in the interaction with surrounding environment factors affecting the products during logistics activities. These groups are Vegetables, Fruits, Biennial vegetables, Chilled & Super-Chilled, Frozen, and Ambient. Subsequently, the sensitivity of each group was analyzed with regard to the environmental factors they are exposed to during logistics, such as e.g. temperature variations, humidity, or pressure and vibration. The results of this study can increase the knowledge and know-how for more efficient and safer food transports while minimizing the risk of damage to the food products during transport.