Introduction: Food waste has become one of the major global sustainability challenges, with significant economic, social, and environmental consequences. Approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption, equivalent to 1.3 billion tons annually, is wasted worldwide. Despite the rapid growth of digital technologies, integrated evidence regarding the effectiveness and implementation challenges of emerging technologies in food waste management remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the role of emerging technologies in reducing food waste and to analyze their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) within the framework of the circular economy.
Methods: This scoping review was conducted based on the PRISMA-ScR guideline. A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar using keywords such as “emerging technologies,” “food waste,” “Internet of Things,” “artificial intelligence,” and “digital platforms” for studies published between 2017 and 2024. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, 37 eligible studies were included and thematically analyzed.

Results: Analysis of the selected studies identified four major technological domains: Internet of Things and smart sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, smart packaging, and digital sharing platforms. Digital platforms accounted for the highest proportion of studies (21.6%), whereas artificial intelligence and machine learning represented the lowest share (8.1%). These technologies facilitate data-driven decision-making and support the transition toward a circular economy. SWOT analysis demonstrated that smart monitoring, resource optimization, and enhanced supply chain transparency were among the main strengths of these technologies, while high implementation costs, infrastructural limitations, privacy concerns, and limited consumer acceptance were identified as major challenges.
Conclusion: Emerging technologies alone cannot fully solve the problem of food waste; however, when combined with supportive policies, targeted public education, and informed consumer participation, they can play a significant role in developing sustainable, transparent, and circular food systems. Nevertheless, heterogeneity among studies and differences in evaluation indicators were among the main limitations of this review.