We are pleased to announce that the next edition of the Food Waste Workshop will take place in Porto, Portugal, from September 20 to 22, 2026, organized by INESC TEC and FEUP-DEGI.
Building on the success of the previous editions — the first edition hosted by the Technical University of Munich in Straubing, Germany (2024) and the second edition hosted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, USA (2025) — the 2026 Food Waste Workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners in Porto to continue advancing discussion on food waste in food systems.
Food waste remains a major global challenge, with significant environmental, economic, and social implications. Addressing it requires collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and countries. By bringing together researchers and practitioners in Porto, this workshop aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and advance both knowledge and action on one of the most urgent challenges facing food systems today.
Main Themes
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Food waste measurement and transparency
- Perishable inventory management
- Pricing and markdown strategies
- Supply chain coordination for fresh products
- Data-driven and AI-based approaches to food waste reduction
- Date labels, consumer behavior, and demand management
- Technology and traceability in food supply chains
- Industry practices and implementation challenges
- Collaboration between academia, industry, and policy stakeholders
Venue
INESC TEC, Porto, Portugal
Campus da FEUP, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto
All workshop sessions will take place at the INESC TEC building.
Preliminary Program
- Sunday, September 20
- Arrival of participants
- 17:30 – 19:00 Welcome gathering, including a visit to ReFood Bonfim
- 19:30 – 22:00 Social dinner at Mundo de Luísa
- Rüdiger Blank: Food Waste at Kaufland – Current Data and Tendencies
- Monday, September 21
- 8:30 – 10:30 Workshop sessions | Pricing for Waste Reduction
- Laura Sprenkels: Dynamic Selling Strategies for Profitability and Resource Efficiency
- Molly Wang: Reducing Food Waste Through Pricing Optimization of Perishable Food in Grocery Retailers
- Recep Yusuf Bekci: Managing Clearance Availability on Surplus-Food Platforms: Strategic Waiting and Release Caps in Perishable Retail
- 10:30 – 10:45 Break
- 10:45 – 12:15 Workshop sessions | Retail Inventory Management
- Mehmet Gumus: Coping with Food Waste at Retail Stage under Limited Traceability Systems
- Rene Haijema: Selecting and Optimizing Modified Base Stock Policies for Ordering Perishable Products
- Karel van Donselaar: Case Pack Optimization for Perishables in the Retail Supply Chain
- Rob Broekmeulen: Identifying Potential Drivers for Adjusting an Automated Order Advice by Local Managers for Perishables
- 12:15 – 13:30 Lunch at INEGI Restaurant
- 13:30 – 15:30 Workshop sessions | Consumer Behavior
- Alys Liang: Power of Waste-Aware Display Policies in Online Grocery Retail: A Unified Framework
- Alexander Hübner: The Freshness Dilemma: How Customer Picking Drives Food Waste in Grocery Stores
- Necati Ertekin: Operational Transparency in Zero Waste Management
- 16:00 – 19:00 Social activity at Grahams Cellars
- 19:30 – 22:00 Social dinner at Restaurant Torreão
- 8:30 – 10:30 Workshop sessions | Pricing for Waste Reduction
- Tuesday, September 22
- 9:00 – 10:30 Workshop sessions | Policy and food donation
- Na Hyun Kim: Nudging Healthier Purchases via Retailer Variety: Evidence from SNAP Online
- Masha Shunko: Scaling Peer-to-Peer Food Sharing: The Hidden Costs of Adding Commercial Partners
- 10:30 – 10:45 Break
- 10:45 – 12:15 Workshop sessions | Consumer Behavior, Date Labels & Packaging
- Man Yu: Date Label, Biosensor, and Consumer Campaign: Alleviating Label Confusion to Combat Food Waste
- Fiori Anglou: Sell By
- Martin Waitz: Are Customers Too Concerned About Plastic Packaging? Investigating the Impact of Customer Attitudes Towards the Packaging of Fresh Produce on Food Waste
- Enis Kayis: The Effect of Smart Fridges on Reducing Household-Level Food Waste
- 12:15 – 13:30 Lunch at INEGI Restaurant
- 13:30 – 15:00 Workshop sessions | Retail Operations, Assortment Planning & Logistics
- Sandra Zajac: An Analytical Model for Display Strategies in Perishable Retail
- Mohammad Nikoofal: Delivery Platform Selection for Grocery Retailers: Payment Models and Food Waste Implications
- Aydin Alptekinoglu: How to Pay for the Logistics of Food Rescue
- Alper Nakkas: Food Waste Under Category Captainship
- 15:15 Closing session
- 9:00 – 10:30 Workshop sessions | Policy and food donation
Participation
The workshop is intended as a forum for high-quality academic exchange and dialogue with practice.
Participation is by invitation only. For more information or to request an invitation, please contact Sara Martins at sara.s.martins@inesctec.pt