scholarly journals Understanding the Effect of Dining and Motivational Factors on Out-Of-Home Consumer Food Waste

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6507
Author(s):  
Francesca Goodman-Smith ◽  
Romain Mirosa ◽  
Miranda Mirosa

Approximately 12% of total food waste is generated at the hospitality and food service level. Previous research has focused on kitchen and storeroom operations; however, 34% of food waste in the sector is uneaten food on consumers’ plates, known as “plate waste”. The effect of situational dining factors and motivational factors on plate waste was analysed in a survey of 1001 New Zealand consumers. A statistically significantly greater proportion (p < 0.05) of participants reported plate waste if the meal was more expensive, longer in duration or at dinnertime. Irrespective of age or gender, saving money was the most important motivating factor, followed by saving hungry people, saving the planet and, lastly, preventing guilt. Successful food waste reduction campaigns will frame reduction as a cost-saving measure. As awareness of the environmental and social costs of food waste builds, multifactorial campaigns appealing to economic, environmental and social motivators will be most effective.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 421
Author(s):  
Marzena Tomaszewska ◽  
Beata Bilska ◽  
Agnieszka Tul-Krzyszczuk ◽  
Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska

The problem of food waste in food services, which is global and essentially affects the entire world, is a major challenge for the hospitality industry. At the same time, it should be noted that this problem has not been sufficiently studied, which makes it difficult to reduce it effectively. The study was carried out in four hotels in late 2019 and early 2020. In order to determine the scale of food waste, the diary method was used, which consists of systematically recording, for seven days, in forms prepared for workstations, the weight of all food products and unused food, including the stage of the technological process. In the hotels under study, most food was wasted in the serving department, i.e., in the buffet in the dining room or in the form of plate waste (on average 72.55% of wasted food). After taking into account the number of hotel guests served, it was found that in the investigated facilities, an average of 0.046 kg was wasted from each serving offered to guests in the form of plate waste, which constituted 5.8% of its weight. In sum, it should be stated that in order to reduce food waste, it is necessary to educate both food services staff and consumers. Employees should be trained in the proper handling of food. Consumer education, on the other hand, should be directed toward raising awareness of the negative impact of food waste, such as that on the natural environment. In addition, it should indicate what action everyone can take to limit this negative phenomenon, whether at home, in the workplace, or in a food service establishment.


Foods ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Josemi G. Penalver ◽  
Maite M. Aldaya

In the year 2011, the FAO estimated that food loss and waste reached one third of the total food produced worldwide. Since then, numerous studies have been published characterizing this problem and reflecting on its repercussions, not only social, but also environmental. Food wastage triggers unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation or loss of biodiversity. This study aims to quantify the water-related benefits associated with food loss and waste reduction by studying the Food Bank of Navarra (FBN). For this purpose, the water footprint assessment manual has been followed. First, the water footprint of the activities of the FBN has been analysed for the year 2018 (scenario with the FBN). A comparative analysis has been carried out between the scenario with the FBN and a theoretical scenario without the action of the FBN. This has allowed us to highlight the benefits associated with the activity of this entity. The FBN not only avoided the waste of 2.7 thousand tons of food suitable for consumption in 2018, but also avoided the unnecessary use of more than 3.2 million m3 of freshwater. As a result of the present investigation, it can be stated that promoting food banks, which avoid food waste, would be an effective way to contribute to the protection and conservation of water resources.


2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 1341-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Secondi ◽  
Ludovica Principato ◽  
Giovanni Mattia

Purpose Halving food waste has been included within the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Food wasted out-of-home is the second source of food waste. However, the majority of the studies have focused on home generated food waste, and still little is known about out-of-home food waste and how it is managed by food service companies. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a double perspective in analyzing food waste generated at a food service level, by focusing on both the client and business perspective. Design/methodology/approach First, from the client perspective, the authors aim at analyzing consumer out-of-home habits, self-reported waste quantification, and doggy bag usage by reporting the results of an exploratory survey which involved 411 individuals living in central Italy. Second, from a business perspective, the authors analyzed an award-winning practice that manages out-of-home food waste in Italy by combining food surplus management and digital solutions with a profitable business model innovation. Findings Results obtained from the two perspectives of analysis support the need of business investments in innovations and digital solutions, in order to meet client needs and behavior, thus contributing to better manage and reduce food surplus and waste. Practical implications This study will raise practitioners’ knowledge on the advantages of digital solution in food surplus management, along with a better comprehension on food waste behavior from the client perspective. Originality/value This is the first study that analyses out-of-home waste from both the client and business perspective, emphasizing how digital solutions can help in reducing the phenomenon.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2198941
Author(s):  
Barbara Pancino ◽  
Clara Cicatiello ◽  
Luca Falasconi ◽  
Matteo Boschini

Foodservice is estimated to produce 12% of the total food waste in Europe, and it is a major target for policies against food waste. The amount of food lost during foodservice operations has been assessed in the literature as a figure ranging from 10% to 41% of the quantity prepared in the kitchen, either as non-served food or as plate waste. In this paper, a systematization of the current initiatives against food waste in EU school foodservice is provided. This background is used as a base to discuss the results of a direct assessment of food waste conducted in 78 primary schools in Italy, where 28.6% of the food prepared was not consumed by the diners. Part of it was saved for reuse, while the rest was disposed and treated as organic waste or, to a lesser extent, as unsorted waste. The flows of food waste, represented by a Sankey diagram, show that some actions may be implemented in order to save more food from disposal; for example, implementing donation programmes for non-served food or using doggy bags to avoid the disposal of plate waste. A greater effort shall be put on preventive actions, aimed at avoiding the generation of food waste; in this sense regular monitoring at schools may act as a first preventive measure as it can increase the awareness of students, teachers and foodservice staff over the issue of food waste.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Puneet Kaur ◽  
Amandeep Dhir ◽  
Shalini Talwar ◽  
Melfi Alrasheedy

Purpose In the recent past, academic researchers have noted the quantity of food wasted in food service establishments in educational institutions. However, more granular inputs are required to counter the challenge posed. The purpose of this study is to undertake a review of the prior literature in the area to provide a platform for future research. Design/methodology/approach Towards this end, the authors used a robust search protocol to identify 88 congruent studies to review and critically synthesize. The research profiling of the selected studies revealed limited studies conducted on food service establishments in universities. The research is also less dispersed geographically, remaining largely focused on the USA. Thereafter, the authors performed content analysis to identify seven themes around which the findings of prior studies were organized. Findings The key themes of the reviewed studies are the drivers of food waste, quantitative assessment of food waste, assessment of the behavioural aspects of food waste, operational strategies for reducing food waste, interventions for inducing behavioural changes to mitigate food waste, food diversion and food waste disposal processes and barriers to the implementation of food waste reduction strategies. Research limitations/implications This study has key theoretical and practical implications. From the perspective of research, the study revealed various gaps in the extant findings and suggested potential areas that can be examined by academic researchers from the perspective of the hospitality sector. From the perspective of practice, the study recommended actionable strategies to help managers mitigate food waste. Originality/value The authors have made a novel contribution to the research on food waste reduction by identifying theme-based research gaps, suggesting potential research questions and proposing a framework based on the open-systems approach to set the future research agenda.


Author(s):  
Saman Attiq ◽  
Amanda Chu ◽  
Rauf Azam ◽  
Wing-Keung Wong ◽  
Sumia Mumtaz

This study sought to investigate the role of consumers’ emotional, cognitive, and financial concerns in the development of food waste reduction, reuse, and recycling behavior among restaurant patrons. Food waste in restaurants is a major problem for the food service industry, and it is a growing source of concern in developing countries, where eating out is becoming increasingly popular. A large portion of restaurant food waste in these markets originates from the plates of customers, highlighting the importance of consumer behavior changes in reducing waste. The current study has used a quantitative approach to analyze the impact of anticipated negative emotion of guilt, awareness of consequences, habit, and financial concern on food waste reduction behaviors, i.e., reduce, reuse, and recycle. The study collected 492 responses and data is analyzed for hypotheses testing through Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling. The findings showed that anticipated negative emotions of guilt, awareness of consequences, habit, and financial concern have a significant impact on restaurants’ consumer food waste reduction behaviors. Managers, policymakers, and researchers interested in resolving the food waste problem will find the study useful. Other topics discussed include the implications and limitations as well as possible future research directions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 55-67
Author(s):  
Shimpei Iwasaki ◽  
Suphat Prasopsin ◽  
Thamarat Phutthai

To develop well-planned and effective policies and programs for reducing avoidable food waste, it is important to quantify the actual food waste level in particular settings and assess relationships among consumers’ awareness, attitudes, and behaviors. Recognizing these considerations, this paper measured avoidable food waste generated by university students living in dormitory buildings and identified its underlying causes in the case of Kanchanaburi campus, Mahidol University, Thailand. The study applied a food waste composition survey 18 times between January and May 2019 while administering questionnaires in October 2019 to the dormitory students. Based on these measures, the study identified 1,417 instances of avoidable food waste. Approximately half of the avoidable food waste had not even been eaten. Most of this waste was generated by female students. Some factors in terms of motivation, opportunity, and ability using a Motivation, Opportunity, Ability framework were found to have induced more food waste among female students. Due attention to the effect of avoidable food waste reduction includes educating dormitory students about food waste as well as more space and increased visibility of stored food in shared refrigerators. Targeting university students for reducing avoidable food waste in the setting of everyday life in dormitories is needed rather than simply focusing on the food service sector on campus.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (7) ◽  
pp. 1536-1549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingyi Zhao ◽  
Louise Manning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the factors that influence food plate waste in a UK university food service setting and the insinuated intention to waste food among staff and students. Design/methodology/approach The study conducted empirical research using an online questionnaire (n=260) at the university. The data were analysed descriptively and inferentially by IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. Findings Multiple factors influence the level of food plate waste including gender, different categories of food, plate size, portion size and palatability. Two recommendations to reduce plate food waste in the university food service setting include providing a variation in plate size and pricing strategy by portion rather than a whole meal, and communicating with staff and students in the food service setting. Research limitations/implications The research contributes, along with previous studies, by focussing here on participants’ food waste intention in food service settings and evidencing the factors of influence. Originality/value The research contributes to understanding on participants’ food waste intention in food service settings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document