EGADE Researcher Leads Frontier Science Project Focused on Reducing Food Waste and Advancing the Circular Economy
By JOSÉ ÁNGEL DE LA PAZ | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL
In Mexico, millions of tons of food are lost each year before reaching households, particularly in urban wholesale markets where transportation, storage, and the lack of traceability contribute to significant waste.
With the goal of understanding and reducing this issue, Alicia Fernanda Galindo Manrique, Research Professor and National Director of the Master in Finance at EGADE Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey, leads a research project approved in the 2025 National Frontier Science Call by Secihti.
The research team is composed of Galindo Manrique and four faculty researchers from Tecnológico de Monterrey’s School of Engineering and Sciences: Esther Pérez Carrillo, Sara Guajardo Flores, Rebeca María García García, and Vicente Antonio Mirón Mérida, who contribute their expertise in food management, biotechnology, and sustainability.
The project, titled “Comprehensive Direct and Reverse Diagnosis of Tomato Management in an Urban Market in Nuevo León: LCSA and Double Materiality Approach for Loss Reduction with Social Impact,” analyzes tomato management at Mercado de Abastos Estrella, located in San Nicolás de los Garza, within the Monterrey metropolitan area.
Its purpose is to reduce food waste and strengthen food security through circular economy strategies and evidence-based public policies.
“I am proud to share the work of our multidisciplinary research team, made up of colleagues from Tecnológico de Monterrey’s School of Engineering and Sciences, with whom I collaborate, representing EGADE Business School. Together, we are developing a project that seeks to assess the economic value of food loss at Mercado de Abastos Estrella in Nuevo León. This effort combines financial analysis, engineering, and sustainability to understand the economic, environmental, and social impact of a problem that affects us all. When research brings together different disciplines with a shared purpose, the results can transform realities,” said Galindo Manrique.
The research applies the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), which integrates environmental, economic, and social impacts, and the Double Materiality approach, which examines how sustainability factors also influence financial and strategic decision-making, aligning technical analysis with a broader vision of economic and social value.
According to the project, Nuevo León consumes more than 75,000 tons of tomatoes per year, yet faces significant losses during distribution and commercialization.
These losses increase greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs, affecting both producers and consumers.
The project aims to identify critical loss points, quantify the carbon footprint associated with transportation and product decomposition, and generate recommendations for more efficient and sustainable management in urban wholesale markets.
Developed with an interdisciplinary and socially oriented approach, the research contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 – Zero Hunger, 12 – Responsible Production and Consumption, and 13 – Climate Action, and seeks to lay the foundation for a circular agri-food economy that can be replicated in other markets across Mexico.
For her leadership as program director and principal investigator of this project, Galindo Manrique was also recognized in the 2025 call of the National System of Researchers (SNII) by Secihti, where she was admitted as Level I, acknowledging her academic career and her contribution to scientific development with social impact.
