case study of food waste

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Toward food waste reduction at universities

• Published: 06 May 2023

Cite this article

• Walter Leal Filho   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1241-5225 1 , 2 ,
• Priscilla Cristina Cabral Ribeiro   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0824-9268 3 ,
• Andréia Faraoni Freitas Setti   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0153-0324 4 ,
• Fardous Mohammad Safiul Azam   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9337-273X 5 ,
• Ismaila Rimi Abubakar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7994-2302 6 ,
• Julen Castillo-Apraiz   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8362-4163 7 ,
• Unai Tamayo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7356-8201 7 ,
• Pinar Gokcin Özuyar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2505-2216 8 ,
• Kamila Frizzo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0858-7614 9 &
• Bruno Borsari   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9463-333X 10  

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Food waste is a serious problem, which undermines the achievement of many sustainable development goals (SDGs), despite their consideration in the agendas of many countries and companies. Notoriously, food waste (FW) causes different kinds of pollution that affect public health and social justice, while contributing to economic losses. This waste phenomenon has causes, drivers, and impacts that require rigorous assessments and effective approaches to mitigate its noxious effects, which are a serious concern for universities. Within these institutions, reducing food waste becomes a circular economy strategy, which is being utilized to assist in promoting sustainable development. However, there is a need for urgent attention to the specific causes of food waste and for consistent actions to reduce it, while boosting awareness in the campus community and triggering a change in students’ eating habits. The purpose of this study is to analyze what can be done to reduce the levels of food waste at universities. To achieve this, a review of the theme’s state of the art, which is inclusive of an overview of food waste production at universities around the world, is presented. The study employed a qualitative methodology where a comprehensive review of the literature and case studies analyses from selected world regions were considered. The data indicate that a broad variance exists in producing food waste among universities, from 0.12 to 50 kg/capita/day. More factors influence the problem (e.g., gender, age, season, consumer behavior), as well as strategies to solve and prevent it (e.g., composting, recycling, new designs of packages, trayless meals, education), and benefits leading toward food waste reductions from 13 to 50%. Also, four priority actions were identified to reduce food waste at universities, and these consist of planning and awareness, food preparation and storage, services, and direct waste reuse. With appropriate adaptations, these recommended actions should be deployed as means for reducing food waste at universities around the world, while expanding learning and education in sustainability.

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1 Introduction

Food waste (FW) denotes a complex topic within the global food industry, affecting many countries of the world, including developing ones. Thus, FW has become a top priority on the agendas of governments and economic sectors in the pursuit of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Costa et al., 2022 ). Actually, FW has become an increasing concern in the last decades due to its environmental impacts, from greenhouse gas emissions to soil, water, and air pollution, thus worsening the effects of climate change. In addition, FW intensifies food insecurity, may cause health problems and leads to economic losses (Shafiee-Jood & Ximing, 2016 ; Wang & Yuan, 2021 ). Its gravity is exemplified by the fact that climate change undermines various sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SFG 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Figure  1 outlines the dimensions of the problem.

Key dimensions of the FW problem

Universities, which may be comparable to mini-cities or large businesses, are places where FW remains a significant problem (Lazell, 2016 ; Leal Filho et al., 2021 ). They may host hundreds, or even thousands of students depending on their capacity while processing and serving every day large volumes of food, thus contributing to the worldwide problem of FW (Kaur et al., 2021 ). Wasteful behaviors of university communities, plus excessive cooking, over-purchasing, and ineffective food planning and management (e.g., poor transportation, deficient inventory, and inadequate food storage and preservation), are among the significant causes of FW at universities (Lazell, 2016 ; Leal Filho et al., 2021 ).

Decision-makers at many universities have been undertaking efforts to prevent and reduce FW and also to spur a positive image of institutional commitment to environmental protection and sustainability on their campuses (Shafiee-Jood & Ximing, 2016 ; Wiriyaphanich et al., 2021 ). Reducing FW is also a social responsibility of universities and an avenue for creating a positive public image when several people, including some of their students, are food-insecure (Kaur et al., 2021 ). FW is central to global sustainability efforts, making universities that enhance their environmental stewardship through initiatives to reduce FW and conducting research about reducing it, attractive to students interested in sustainability and environmental programs (Li et al., 2021 ). Therefore, involving students in the sustainability education process through applied and cooperative approaches to resolve the FW problem can become transformative for their education, independently from any future career path these may take. There is a need for more research in this field, especially studies aiming at identifying ways to reduce, or even eliminate FW. The scarcity of studies focusing on FW generated at higher education institutions that intersect with global food production reiterates the need for urgent actions to help address this problem.

When universities operate as living labs, they have the potential to bring new approaches and development ideas for feasible solutions that could assist also with the challenges posed by FW (Leal Filho et al., 2022 ). The urgency for identifying and implementing sustainable methods of FW management is compelling, and universities as microcosms of learning and innovations can play a more active role in reducing and/or recycling FW. However, this effort requires systemic and strategic actions, because it is a complex task that implies monitoring and controlling waste against set targets. In fact, cultural, political, economic, geographic, and sociodemographic factors may also be related to FW behavior (Thyberg & Tonjes, 2016 ). Therefore, attempts to address this problem need to take all these elements into account, in a comprehensive and holistic manner.

There are many and varied FW sources that can potentially amplify the magnitude of this phenomenon, such as overproduction, unnecessary losses in inventory or inappropriate transportation and storage (Leal Filho et al., 2021 ). Recent studies have provided an overview of the determinants of FW generation in cafeterias (Qian et al., 2021 ) and dining halls (Deliberador et al., 2021 ; Deliberador, César & Batalha, 2021 ), whereas others have been focusing on what influences students’ FW behavior (Wang et al., 2022 ). For instance, Zhang et al. ( 2021 ) found out the reasons that contribute to FW increases at their university and proposed valuable solutions for this problem.

Possible changes toward more sustainable food production and consumption, such as the technology-based solution proposed by Vázquez et al. ( 2020 ), or specific guidelines as those proposed by Leal Filho et al. ( 2021 ), appear to be effective and applicable to other contexts. It should be made clear, however, that FW and losses are critical political issues that possess tangible implications for the entire supply chain, from crop production to disposal of food remains. This issue needs to be properly addressed by universities and demands the implementation of innovative, responsive, and sustainable solutions to the problem.

Our primary motivation for conducting this study consisted in lessening the existing gap between the relevance of FW research and real efforts made by universities to reduce FW. The originality of our study lies in the fact that we adopt a pragmatic approach to identify achievements from the field, while proposing precise actions that may become applicable elsewhere, with appropriate adaptations. Hence, our objective is to analyze what can be done to reduce the levels of FW at universities, whereas our main contribution lies in suggesting where actions should be taken.

There is still a lack of studies that identify areas of improvement and suggest initiatives to tackle waste management at universities. Through a qualitative study, we aim to: (i) present the most updated overview of FW at institutions of higher learning, (ii) analyze the approaches and methods that have been used by these to reduce FW, and (iii) propose initiative areas that, if pursued, could effectively help to reduce FW at universities. We seek to move this topic forward by understanding the challenges, opportunities, and nuances of FW management and disposal at higher education institutions, while proposing effective, sustainable practices.

2 Material and methods

This work employed a two-pronged, qualitative methodology. One focused on a literature review of recent studies about FW at universities, whereas the other was directed at an analysis of selected case studies from countries representative of North America (Canada and USA), Asia (China and Qatar), and southern Europe (Spain).

The rationale guiding the selection of articles for the literature review analysis consisted of their close relationship with the topic under study and also the fact that these illustrate real examples of experiences in FW management at universities. These articles were searched on the Scopus database using filters such as year of publication (2020–2023), type of documents (journal articles and conference papers), and language (English) while employing keywords like “food consumption, food waste” and “university”, and the initiative areas. They were read thoroughly and their content was summarized and discussed as qualitative data in the literature analysis review of this study. Its focus was on understanding how FW is generated and disposed of at dining halls canteens and cafeterias. In addition to this, nuances were sought to learn what approaches, if any, were in place at institutions of higher learning to develop awareness and impart education in reducing FW on campus. Both methods here employed (literature review and the analysis of case studies) complemented each other in reciprocity. For example, Patten ( 2004 ) pointed out that a literature review can assist qualitative and/or quantitative researchers to identify trends or research voids, in any field of inquiry. Case studies instead are descriptive endeavors that shed light on problem solutions achieved in specific research contexts thus, blending a variety of data gathering techniques, over time (Creswell & Creswell, 2018 ). Through this approach, researchers may tackle case studies from a variety of epistemological angles, employing a variety of definitions to address the researchers’ roles in the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data (Compton-Lilly, 2012 ). Also, Miles ( 2015 ) conceded that additional advantages of using case studies consist of the fact that these provide a better context for the topic being studied. Therefore, both methodological strategies, although non-experimental, can offer valuable information to describe a distinctive research context, or event, which may inspire more studies along the same trajectory, with appropriate adaptations, or adoptions, depending on the characteristics embodied by a new study environment (Patton, 1990 ). The study approach used is described in Fig.  2 .

Schematic view of the study approach used

Our methodology proved to be effective in understanding challenges and opportunities about FW management and disposal at university campuses, despite the diversity of cultures and operational approaches employed by institutions of higher education. The investigators sought to find relationships between the two qualitative methods used for their data collection because according to Popham ( 1993 ), these have the potential to enhance the trustworthiness of assessment studies.

3 Results and discussion

3.1 literature review: food waste at universities: the state of art.

Solid waste becomes a nuisance when disposed off indiscriminately, such as along streets, rivers or dumped into the sea. These practices generate a lot of hazards and are dangerous to the well-being of humans and the environment (Adeniyi & Afon, 2022 ). FW is one of the most concerning solid waste issues, especially when considering the current hunger problems affecting humanity, preceding and following the COVID-19 pandemic. It also creates Carbon Footprints (CFs) that may significantly worsen the effects of global warming (Qian et al., 2022a ). For any hypothetical country in the world, FW is the third largest source of carbon gas emissions in the world (UNEP, 2021 ). University dining halls are places where waste-reducing actions are urgently needed. Therefore, campus dining sustainability programs are expected to play a critical role in educating future leaders about environmental stewardship, through effective FW reduction approaches. To this end, the Green Restaurant Association ( 2020 ) has proposed eight standards for green restaurants and these are: (a) water efficiency, (b) waste reduction and recycling, (c) sustainable food, (d) sustainable, durable goods and building materials, (e) energy, (f) reusable and environmentally preferable disposals, (g) chemical and pollution reduction, and (h) transparency and education that may be feasible also for implementation at universities and more institutions.[query section].

3.1.1 Reasons and factors behind FW generation

According to Kasavan et al. ( 2021 ), there is a high FW at the consumer level in developed countries due to over-purchasing of perishable foods, like fruits and vegetables, meats and dairy products, whereas the post-harvest and production processes constitute major causes of FW in developing countries. Considering that at universities, FW occurs mainly from the cooking and preparation of dining halls and consumers' behavior, Deliberador et al. ( 2021 ) discussed the reasons for FW at campus eateries, such as food quality, portion size, satiety, time, and attitudes. Another factor to be considered is the seasonal influence on the characteristics and quantity of FW, which is not a common topic discussed within universities, nor is part of research agendas, or standard for urban land use (Adeniyi & Afon, 2022 ). Qian et al. ( 2022a ) in their survey of 29 universities, which engaged 9,192 students, found some reasons related to generating FW, such as the mass of FW, gender, age, education, ethnicity, religious beliefs, being the only child in a family, daily waste habits, family origin (city, small town, or rural area), household size, family wealth, lunch or dinner, weekdays or weekends, presence of commensals, time pressure, differences in how food is served, food expenditure, meal costs, food taste satisfaction, and awareness.

Also, Yoon et al. ( 2023 ) pointed out that gender is another factor for variability in food consumption and sustainable behavior. According to these authors, female consumers have a higher tendency to patronize environmentally friendly restaurants, are more likely to purchase sustainable products, hold stronger attitudes toward environmental issues, and pay more for sustainably produced foods when compared to their male counterparts. These gender differences and perceptions of sustainable practices are similar to those experienced by campus dining services at a large southeastern university in the USA.

Spatial characteristics affect FW. For example, in a survey at Chinese universities, Qian et al. ( 2022b ) discovered that regional economic development influences FW in China. The lower carbon food print regions are concentrated in Northeast and Northwest China, where rice and meat have less demand and wheat instead is the staple food. This may be because the south is more affluent and most people have a higher purchasing powers that allow higher levels of consumption and waste (rice and meat), as substantiated by a previous study by Qian et al. ( 2022a ).

Zhang et al. ( 2021 ) conceded that FW per meal, per capita, differs based on some factors such as personal attributes (age and gender), and additional reasons related to consuming behavior (excessive purchasing, tasteless food, personal preference for gourmet, rather than staple food, undesired accompaniments, selection of disposable tableware, cheap food, and large-sized portions).

3.1.2 Quantifying the FW volume

Accurate calculations of FW are necessary to identify waste hotspots and strategies for implementing effective waste reduction plans. To accomplish these computational tasks, employment of key performance indicators such as FW per capita (total FW generation divided by the total population in each school) and FW per portion (percentage of FW generated at the consumption level) is recommended (Kasavan et al., 2021 ). In an international study with a sample of 52 higher education institutions, Leal Filho et al. ( 2021 ) discovered that more than half of the universities (60%) do not measure the amount of FW generated by their canteens. Hence, it is not possible to fully understand to what extent FW is being generated and its impacts in terms of waste and related costs to dispose of it. Measurable indicators yield real numbers and these data can encourage preventive FW measures, detect operational inefficiencies, and especially, establish realistic targets for improvement.

An employment of the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and System Dynamics (SD) approaches at the Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines) revealed that the total mass of rice waste was 49.48 kg/day and that large sources of waste originated in the cafeteria, involving the cooking and serving of rice—the reason of this FW was the surplus of cooked rice that was not consumed (Favis et al., 2022 ).

A study at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Nigeria showed that the average solid waste generated per person per day is 0.042 kg., which cumulatively yields 2.98 tons/day (Adeniyi & Afon, 2022 ). In a recent survey in a public North American university, Cavazos et al. ( 2023 ) estimate that diners serving themselves once during lunch, on average leave on their plate 0.4 kg/day during a five-day week, leading to individual amounts of FW of 6.7 kg., during the typical sixteen-week semester period. In a survey with 7000 students at a Portuguese university, 4,374 meals were prepared using 1599 kg of food during this study period (10 days). From this initial mass, 189.5 kg of food was wasted, 164.1 kg as plate waste (what is in the dishes), and 25.3 kg as leftovers. The high FW values (about 13.4%), determine a monthly economic loss of €3.080, an ecological footprint of 2.8 global hectares (gha), and a total FW of 417 kg (Martinho et al., 2022 ).

In another survey from Chinese universities, vegetables ranked first (46.80% of total plate waste) in FW, grain waste ranked second (36.23% of total plate waste), meat ranked third (13.91% of total plate waste), and the waste of eggs and aquatic products was the lowest (1.55 and 1.52% of the total FW, respectively) (Qian et al., 2022b ). At a university in Northern Portugal with 7000 students, Martinho et al. ( 2022 ) compared the total FW from soup and main course options (meat, fish, pasta, and ovolactovegetarian meal) and found that FW was higher for meat (78.1 kg), whereas the lowest FW was measured for the ovolactovegetarian option. Considering daily meal prices and FW, researchers estimated that there is a daily economic loss of €140. Considering the length of the Portuguese academic year (200 days), this equates to almost €28,000/per year.

Tucho and Okoth ( 2020 ) found that leftovers (dominated by Injera, rice, and spaghetti), generated by students at an Ethiopian university accounted for 82% of the total FW in a one-year timeframe, whereas onion counted for 10% and potato peels 6%, yielding cumulatively, 680 tons of FW.

In three canteens of a Chinese university, considering environmental and cost impacts, Li et al. ( 2021 ) found that the total amount of FW with 22,000 students was 246.75 t/year, the carbon footprint caused by FW was 539.28 t CO2-eq, and the cost was €647,348.94. The staple food (cooked wheat-based foods and rice products) is the highest (46.14%) contributor to the FW in this sample, whereas the remainder consists of vegetables and soy products (28.34%). The authors explained that the carbon footprint of FW in university canteens in China derives mainly from the use of electricity and natural gas (68.71%) during the cooking phase. This requires the use of more energy-efficient electrical appliances in university canteens, attention to energy conservation, and considerations about sourcing renewable energies. The cost of FW in university canteens occurs primarily from the purchase of livestock and poultry meats in the procurement phase (26.04%), and labor costs in the cooking phase (38.17%). This calls on students to reduce meat consumption and waste and adopt a more balanced diet. Labor wages are stable and unlikely to change. In a national survey conducted among Chinese universities, Qian et al. ( 2022b ) found that FW correlates with high carbon footprints, and that meat waste accounts for 13.91% of the total plate waste weight, which generates 46.28% of the total carbon footprint. On the contrary, vegetables account for 46.80% of the total plate waste, but only 10.65% of the total carbon footprint. Hence, reducing the FW of high-carbon-footprint foods like those derived from animals is effective for reducing carbon emissions.

3.1.3 Strategies for preventing and controlling FW

Alternatives for universities to search for organic production by dining halls, canteens, and cafeterias are available, however, and these consist of:

 − installing composting bins in every building thus, eliminating trash pickup for janitors;

 − employing earthworms and establishing vermicomposting facilities as an alternative to common composting practices;

 − composting the food via anaerobic digestion to yield methane and compost—that can be turned into valuable organic fertilizers, which can be used for the university gardens and animal feed or sold FW to worm farms (Da Rocha Ramos et al., 2022 ; Feil et al., 2020 ; Grech et al., 2020 ; Kasavan et al., 2021 ; Leal Filho et al., 2021 ).

These composting practices could be assessed by considering variables such as supplier selection, after‐sale support, composting method performance (Al-Aomar et al., 2022 ), and compost/vermicompost quality.

Another action proposed by Grech et al. ( 2020 ) is related to packages, minimizing their use, and recycling them. Following this idea, the trayless initiative is an infrastructural action to reduce FW, plus a cultural one (Davison et al., 2022 ). Concerning reducing FW, Grech et al. ( 2020 ) and other authors suggest that canteens could be reducing plate and utensil sizes, go trayless, adjust quantities of food made available to trends of consumption, menu options (focusing on the reduction of animal-based products availability, and inclusion of local and seasonal products that prioritize fresh and minimizes consumption of processed foods), catering styles (table service placing self-service buffet), adoption of an online prebooking meal system, development of digital applications for continuous FW monitoring, composting, and donations (Cavazos et al., 2023 ; Davison et al., 2022 ; Martinho et al., 2022 ; Musicus et al., 2022 ; Zhang & Kwon, 2022 ).

Related to the trayless strategy, Zhang and Kwon ( 2022 ) noticed that, in their sample, this initiative did not result in unhealthy food choices as some authors attested, but rather the consumption of fat and caloric intake decreased, improving the quality of the consumers’ diet. Although there were some changes in the students' diets, the authors did not find FW reductions significant because one-third of the sample did not leave any plate waste before the trayless implementation. Besides, the number of individuals leaving large portions of FW did not change. Although the trayless strategy did not have the impact expected by the university, some issues stood out, such as the dissatisfaction with trayless related to the building layout (walking between people in the dining center), safety (dropped food while moving from a food area to another), and hazards (burnings of students’ hands). Leal Filho et al. ( 2021 ) found that some canteens prioritize the use of single-use food boxes still, and even though students might be willing to pay the full price of a dish and receive a smaller portion, staff would still serve the full one.

In accordance with the infrastructure of a canteen/cafeteria/dining hall, during the food processing, revisions of the standard operating procedures made in the processes of the cafeterias and maintenance or updating the equipment are recommended, with regular measurements of FW in these campus facilities (Favis et al., 2022 ; Leal Filho et al., 2021 ).

Faezirad et al. ( 2021 ) noticed that the reduction of FW at one of the major universities in Tehran, Iran was based on decreasing the number of unclaimed meals, and to implement this approach, a simultaneous balance between minimizing waste cost and shortage penalty was considered. Besides, the authors proposed an artificial neural network-based model designed for demand prediction by a students’ reservation system that supports meal planning. Hence, choosing two types of food, each as an alternative or a supplement to the other, promotes the model's efficiency. Although students have already set their preferences when making the reservation, they may still face shortage; in this case, it may be possible to replace food 1 with food 2 or vice versa, at a new price. This idea would realize the objective of FW reduction.

Some authors described the implementation, in some ‘target areas’ like ethical procurement and sustainable food consumption strategies, to change students’ behavior, in line with the cultural differences and strategies that educate students and the university community about FW reduction. Governments and universities aimed to embed sustainability into institutional activities such as teaching and research, or by encouraging freshmen students to study sustainability, collaborating with the community, staff development, branding, reducing carbon emissions, and transforming campuses in all activities and resources (water, grounds, FW, procurement and purchasing) in a perennial commitment to sustainability (Cavazos et al., 2023 ; Davison et al., 2022 ; Grech et al., 2020 ; Martinho et al., 2022 ).

Even though these strategies are essential to reduce FW, Musicus et al. ( 2022 ) identified some barriers to donating FW and/or composting it. About the first strategy, they found that a lack of labor, liability concerns, infrastructure, lack of recipient partnerships, and state or municipal policies can become tangible constraints. Related to composting the barriers found were lack of infrastructure, knowledge/experience, labor, and financial concerns. The main concern is the lack of labor that can be overcome by students and community volunteer groups.

3.1.4 Benefits of investing in FW reduction

When universities decrease FW they gain economic benefits (tangible and intangible cost of waste management from purchase to disposal), social benefits (enhance food security), and environmental benefits (improve natural resource use efficiency, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions) (Kasavan et al., 2021 ).

In a recent study by Davison et al. ( 2022 ) in Indian and UK, university canteens, they found COVID-19-related changes, such as from self-service to table service, as well as reduced menu choices and improved estimation of the number of students requiring meals. Surveys and focus groups were conducted with students to better understand their attitudes about FW, while interviews were carried out with university staff to better understand FW management. The study in the UK university canteen revealed that introducing table cards, posters, and signs led to food waste reductions of 13%. Meanwhile, the study in the Indian university canteen indicated that institutional interventions and COVID-19 impacts led to food waste reductions of 50%. Concerning food waste-related differences between the UK and India, culture and food preferences were key reasons for FW in India, with 40.5% more participants stating that they wasted food because the ‘food didn’t taste good’. A summary matrix of the points discussed thus far is presented (Table 1 ).

3.2 Case studies: actions to reduce food waste at universities

Reducing FW requires multifaceted initiatives, involving multiple actors. Alongside governments and the private sector, other stakeholders such as universities have become increasingly accustomed to defining their impacts on climate change and taking adaptation measures (Valls‑Val & Bovea, 2021 ). New products, technologies, and ideas are necessary to satisfy the food supply needs of the global population. Within this frame, universities can help to find solutions to reducing the footprint of products, systems, and technology by allocating more capacity to multidisciplinary research endeavors, while devising innovative curricula to educate students in reducing their own FW impacts (Abdelaal et al., 2019 ). For example, an electronic food rescue program was developed for university students in the USA to obtain good quality excess food that would otherwise have been wasted (Frank, 2022 ). Students enrolled in the program receive alerts about the source, type, quantity, and location of the available food, which contributes to enhancing students’ food security.

Several universities have acknowledged the potential impact of FW on climate change (Mu et al., 2017 ; Zhou et al., 2021 ). Because of this, reducing and repurposing FW on university campuses represent promising means by which to reduce agricultural-related greenhouse gas emissions, reduce food insecurity, and save money (Musicus et al., 2022 ). Some universities are implementing food recovery programs where excess food is donated to local organizations such as food banks and charities that serve the poor (Goral, 2018 ). As plate waste is among the drivers of FW in several universities, encouraging students to decrease their portion sizes and take only what they can eat will help cut food over-supply and reduce the overall FW (Abdelaal et al., 2019 ; Musicus et al., 2022 ).

Therefore, several institutions have launched studies to evaluate, monitor, and trace the process of FW, while implementing strategies to reduce it (Mu et al., 2017 ; Zhou et al., 2021 ). A sample of action plans and approaches to reducing FW, with case studies from selected institutions is summarized in Table 2 .

Our analysis of selected case studies revealed that a variety of approaches and methods have been used by universities to reduce FW, which consider the particularities and features of individual institutions. In addition to this, when it comes to tackling FW at universities, it is important to take their specific management, culture, and logistic contexts into account.

Beyond education, instruction on ‘‘how-to” and following the example of others are usually the most effective tools to reduce wastage. Rather than feeling guilty about wasting food, people should feel a sense of responsibility and become aware that by making small adjustments in their everyday food consumption habits, they can contribute to improving the lives of people who are currently hungry (Pinto et al., 2018 ). Reducing FW at universities helps save money, donate food to the needy or food banks, and generate biogas for energy production and compost for gardening and landscaping (Mu et al., 2017 ; Reynolds et al., 2019 ). Thus, reducing FW on campus is now a top priority for universities worldwide.

4 The way forward in food waste reduction at universities

One of the UN’s goals for 2030 is to reduce, by half, the global FW and loss per capita, from production to consumption. Every year the world loses, or wastes between a quarter and a third of all food produced. This volume amounts to about 1.3 billion tons of food, which includes 30% of cereals, 40–50% of roots, fruits, vegetables, and oilseeds, 20% of meat and dairy products, and 35% of fish (UNEP, 2021 ).

Achieving food security requires a continuous process of educating, training, and raising people’s awareness about the importance of consuming consciously, while reducing waste. The interface between sustainability and food is where universities play the role of knowledge ‘lighthouses’, and experimentation ‘sources’, but also as outside leaders in public engagement, enabling conversations and intersectoral actions (Corbari et al., 2021 ) to guide the food system toward ensuring food and nutrition security.

For universities to become vectors of development, they must commit to their core activities—teaching, researching, and extension programs—but also to non-core ones, such as internal policies, aiming to strive for sustainability and decrease waste management. In this sense, they must produce knowledge and develop skills, values, and actions to address and hopefully resolve the intertwined challenges of the present world, including climate change, hunger, poverty, and inequalities.

Reckoning the fact that universities are institutions that produce waste, should inspire these to promote more multidisciplinary education, scientific, and technological research—through a holistic approach—to foster the necessary skills and changes in habits when handling the problem of FW.

Most importantly, campuses should become testbeds where strategies for waste prevention are designed and implemented, preferably against a larger framework of carbon footprint decrease, and through academic collaborations and outreach programs. Within this framework, we envision four initiative areas presented in Table 3 and the countries and/or regions where they were applied that, if more broadly pursued, could expand further reductions of FW at universities. These are:

planning and awareness,

food preparation and storage,

services, and

direct waste reuse.

In Table 3 we realize that various initiatives have been implemented according to different priority needs and the availability of resources for specific universities, from around the world. In the first initiative, a university could give preference to fresh, seasonal, organic, or whenever possible, locally sourced food (Li et al., 2022 ; Vizzoto et al., 2021 ) as part of their planning strategies. Introducing some menus which may be cooked on demand, at short time intervals (e.g., pasta, rice, flatbreads, panini, pizzas, and more bakery foods), may help to minimize FW while satisfying variations on demand. This approach may also help to promote a healthier diet, encourage university canteens and restaurants to reduce their CO 2 emissions, and could help universities to reduce the use of plastic packaging. Planning and awareness initiatives demand studies about the characteristics of university students by dining hall managers and university offices that aim to be more sustainable (Knezevic et al., 2019 ).

The second initiative (food preparation and storage) demands ‘ ad hoc ’ training for service staff to acquire the necessary food preparation and storage skills to make full use of food products, reduce the waste of fresh produce, and ensure adequate space for the preservation of foodstuff. Students are another group at universities campus that require education to become more conscious about their food buying habits, training for meal preparation, and sustainable food disposals (Ozanne et al., 2022 ). There is also a demand for training dining hall employees about planning for production and disposal support in the management of FW (Erälinna & Szymoniuk, 2021). According to some drivers (functional, behavioral, contextual, and demographic), Kaur et al. ( 2021 ) divided into pre-consumer (production waste) and post-consumer (consumption waste) stages of FW and found some strategies to decrease it.

The third initiative is about services, as universities should implement procedures to offer choices of healthier food options and adequate portion sizes. Dining halls can strategize campaigns to educate their patrons to take what they want to eat, in a sufficient amount (Deliberador, César & Batalha, 2021 ), thus preventing the need to dispose of leftover foods, besides launching educational campaigns to promote a connection between FW and personal behavior (Pinto et al., 2018 ).

The fourth initiative, direct waste reuse, recycling can be useful, along with the provision of specific bins for selective waste collection to allow composting and anaerobic digestion at a later stage (Leal Filho et al., 2021 ; Vázquez et al., 2020 ). Furthermore, some types of waste can be converted into various forms of renewable energy. For example, cooking oil can be used to make biodiesel, while FW can be turned into biogas and/or heat (Zhou et al., 2021 ). The dissemination of source separation criteria within the community and the sharing of good practices between universities play a key role in improving the level of sustainability in the education sector (Rada et al., 2020 ). Universities can also donate their excess food to non-profit organizations, provided they comply with food safety procedures and legislation to prevent the risk of foodborne diseases, or even donate to animal feed production and use the waste for composting by technologies created for this purpose (Goral, 2018 ; Torrijos et al., 2021 ). Despite implementing these and many other initiatives, there are several barriers to achieving sustainable FW management, as Musicus et al. ( 2022 ) reported from studying this problem at universities in the USA.

5 Conclusions

This paper has shown that FW is a matter of significant concern to universities, and urgent efforts are needed to address it while developing effective approaches aimed at reducing it. Key drivers of FW at universities include over-supply of food, plate waste, inefficient food management practices, and lack of awareness of FW prevention.

This issue has major ecological and socioeconomic implications, including a high environmental footprint, economic loss, and food insecurity for increasing segments of society, even in affluent countries. Reducing FW via food recovery, enhancing the efficiency of the food supply chain, and educating the university community to adjust their daily lifestyle to reduce FW can help create environmentally sustainable campuses and a more equitable society.

This paper has some limitations, however. The first one is related to the fact that the sample of universities considered in the case study analysis cannot be regarded as comprehensive. This is because it is aimed at providing a profile of current trends, and not a worldwide overview. The second limitation is the scope of the study, which examined FW without expanding into the various aspects of food production. Yet despite these limitations, the paper provides a needed addition to the literature since it tackles a matter of distinctive relevance to universities while considering a problem that has notable, ethical implications.

Ultimately, the best way to handle FW is by preventing it in the first place. To achieve this goal it is very important to engage all students (at every level of instruction) in active learning focused on growing food whether this occurs on campus, or not. Obviously, a campus demonstration farm, or at least, a modest size garden are ideal spaces to foster food systems education (Sottile et al., 2016 ). These may act as living labs around which all curriculum subjects can be connected because the frame of instruction at these sites is supportive of ecocentric learning (Borsari, 2012 ). In a university garden, students have numerous opportunities to develop skills in growing their food, while understanding stewardship values and restorative practices, that cannot be taught from lectures only, within the walls of a classroom setting. In addition, in a university garden, the compost site becomes the keystone space where learners realize that there is no waste in nature because everything is part of a continuous cycle, Thus, crops stubbles, rotten fruits, and similar residues are not waste, but rather resources that, if properly composted, will regenerate ecologically soil fertility, which contributes to a sustainable, food growth (Borsari, 2020 ). Even a one-time-only exposure to this and similar hands-on activities can become transformative in the education of all learners and contribute effectively to expanding awareness about FW reduction while pursuing human and planetary health (Borsari & Vidrine, 2022 ).

In this context, the design of zero waste programs may be very helpful, even though their implementation can be challenging. In a world where many countries face poverty and hunger, it is a paradox that FW continues to occur. There is no space for FW in a sustainable world! Universities should invest more funds and resources in getting this message across to society through efforts (often spurred by some students’ clubs), to convert campus open space into (prairie, herbs, edible, vegetables, pollinators, rain, and more) gardens. Campus landscape diversification has the potential to reconnect human beings with nature, food, and associated resources to grow it. A re-establishment of these vital links is sorely needed to remediate excessive, consumptive habits that should become superseded instead by a culture of NO waste and sustainability. This end goal will be achieved only when more universities will tie their study programs to a more sustainable design and management of their open space supported by ecocentric instruction, where food systems studies have emerged as keystone themes of curricula.

Data Availability Statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

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Jon Wilson and Thomas Connolly opened Bluebird Diner in the Northside Marketplace district of Iowa City in October 2008. Bluebird boasts delicious homemade food with a bright and cheery modern style atmosphere. It provides customers with a unique experience in the restaurant’s conscientious decision to implement food waste diversion and responsible dining. Whenever possible, food waste from Bluebird enters a compost pile, not a landfill.

Central Community School District, Elkader, IA

One of the Central Community School's activities is the Central Green Team, a group of students working to make a difference in the environment we live in. In the spring of 2015, the club started a compost pile under the direction of science teacher, Ann Gritzner. Students collected both kitchen scraps, napkins, and food waste coming from student's trays and began a small composting operation behind the school.

Chariton, IA

The City of Chariton, Iowa is just one of four communities selected to participate in the Food Waste Reduction Assistance project for Iowa Rural Communities.

Food Bank of Siouxland Inc., Sioux City, IA

Situated on the western edge of Iowa, the Food Bank of Siouxland is able to serve 11 counties in two states – Iowa and Nebraska. More than 100 agencies, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency relief centers, shelters, and daycares, get their food from the food bank. This organization definitely plays a role in reducing the amount of food making it to Iowa landfills.

Greene County Medical Center, Jefferson, IA

The cafeteria at the Greene County Medical Center is open seven days a week and serves 350-400 meals per day to patients, the community and employees, as well as 1-12 meals per day to the local jail.

Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

In Iowa, Grinnell College was in the planning stage to build a brand new facility to serve as a central gathering place, campus offices, and dining halls and kitchens. To accommodate the college’s sustainable ideology, Grinnell was able to plan their dining facilities and kitchens to include food waste reduction and diversion operations.

Holmes Junior High, Cedar Falls, IA

The IWRC visits Holmes Junior High to observe their new food waste and composting systems.

The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, Cedar Rapids, IA

The Hotel at Kirkwood Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa offers everything a traveler desires.  From its stylish, Euro-chic features to an extensive, completely original collection of local art – every detail, floor to ceiling, was hand-chosen to create an amazing atmosphere for guests to enjoy.  But what guests may not realize is that this upscale hotel is composting its food waste and keeping it out of the landfill.

Iowa City Landfill & Recycling Center, Iowa City, IA

In 1989, yard waste was banned from Iowa landfills via the Iowa Waste Reduction and Recycling Act. This required landfills to find an alternative way to handle yard waste and consequently most Iowa landfills have since had a commercial-scale yard waste composting facility, including Iowa City.

The City of Lamoni, Iowa is just one of four communities selected to participate in the Food Waste Reduction Assistance project for Iowa Rural Communities.

Melcher-Dallas Elementary School

The IWRC visits Melcher-Dallas Elementary School as part of it's K-12 outreach program to prevent and reduce food waste currently headed to the landfill.

Moulton-Udell Community School District

The IWRC visits the Moulton-Udell Community School District as part of it's K-12 outreach program to prevent and reduce food waste currently headed to the landfill.

Postville, IA

The City of Postville, Iowa is just one of four communities selected to participate in the Food Waste Reduction Assistance project for Iowa Rural Communities.

Poweshiek County Jail, Montezuma, IA

Correctional facilities across the country are taking the initiative to reduce the amount of food wasted on a daily basis. It's not only better for the environment, but it results in lowering disposal costs.

Regina Catholic Education Center, Iowa City, IA

Beginning in 2011, Regina Catholic Education Center in Iowa City began recycling and composting programs in their school. With big help from students and staff, the program has been a success. As reported in the Catholic Messenger, parent Missy Aitchison states, “Regina has been sending about 97 gallons of organic waste per day to the recycling center for composting”.

South Central Calhoun Community School District

The IWRC visits the South Central Calhoun Community School District as part of it's K-12 outreach program to prevent and reduce food waste currently headed to the landfill.

UnityPoint Health, Des Moines, IA

Beginning in 2008, Iowa Health Systems spent a year tracking kitchen food waste at three hospitals in an effort to reduce the amount going to landfills.  The staff was trained to weigh and record information pertaining to discarded food such as the type of food and the reason for disposal.  Food waste was discarded in clear buckets and bags to allow for a visual inspection of the amount and types of food waste entering Iowa landfills. 

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The impact of food preservation on food waste

Wayne martindale.

1 National Centre for Food Manufacturing, Food Insights and Sustainability Service, University of Lincoln, Holbeach, UK

Walter Schiebel

2 Institute for Marketing and Innovation, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between food preservation and reducing consumer waste is of value in developing sustainable meal options. The research reports insights into Austrian marketplace for frozen and fresh foods that have been obtained from a consumer survey.

Design/methodology/approach

The consumer survey methodologies indicate how preservation can change meal planning and lower food waste across frozen and fresh and ambient food purchases using freezing preservation methods.

The results show food waste can be reduced by six-fold when frozen foods are compared with fresh foods.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the requirement for a greater understanding of the probability that specific foods will be wasted with respect to the frequency of purchase. This is a limitation of the current study that has been investigated by other researchers.

Practical implications

This research has enabled the identification of different food waste amounts for different food product categories. The data presented could be used to guide food product development so that less consumer waste is produced.

Social implications

The research suggests a decision matrix approach can be used to can guide new product development and a model of this matrix is presented so that it may provide fit-for-purpose food preservation options for consumers.

Originality/value

This paper will continue to highlight the overlooked value of food preservation during processing and manufacturing of foods and their preparation in households.

Introduction

Consumers produce the greatest amount of food waste and loss in the food supply chains of developing and developed economies ( Gustavsson et al. , 2011 ). A recent pan-European food waste programme has identified consumer food waste as a major challenge (COST Action TD1203, EUBIS). The COST Network, EU network on food waste valorisation has given attention to solving the amount of consumer food waste produced through technological and policy interventions ( Morone et al. , 2017 ; Privett et al. , 2016 ). Reducing all food losses will result in a more secure global food system and it is important for us to show how consumers can reduce food waste in households. This is where food preservation has an important role in facilitating this waste reducing action because it improves the utilisation of food. It has also been identified that understanding why food is wasted by consumers during meal occasions develops of waste reduction strategies that can be used for different foods and preservation methods ( Martindale, 2014 ).

Previous food waste reduction initiatives have typically focussed outside of this consumer arena and they have focussed on manufacturing and retail food losses. They have been successful at designing out food waste using the right-weighting of food products (portion control) and light-weighting of packaging (material resource efficiency). Their success has been made possible through cooperative actions across the food industry that have developed joint responsibility for food waste. It is essential that these initiatives now act to reduce the food that consumers purchase but do not eat ( Mena et al. , 2011 ). Furthermore, FAO reported Food Balance statistics show supply chain losses for food groups such as meat, fruit and vegetables to be below 5 per cent of production or domestic supply quantities ( Martindale, 2017 ). While these food losses remain incredibly important it is reported by national agencies and government departments that consumers’ food waste regularly reaches 20 per cent or more of food purchased ( Defra, 2017 ).

There has been an emergence of re-distribution schemes and community focussed actions that have been successful at removing food waste from supply chains. Redistribution of foods that are close to shelf-life limits and schemes that facilitate providing food to consumers such as “community fridges” have an exceptionally important role to play in waste reduction particularly where communities experience limited accessibility and affordability of foods. The redistribution of foods from retailers and manufacturers that are close to shelf life limits or charitable donations has also seen the impact of using on-line communication technologies that connect providers with consumers of redistributed foods ( Aschemann-Witzel et al. , 2017 ; Aschemann-Witzel et al. , 2015 ). What has become evident in this arena is the reduction of food wastes from the food supply chain to the point of consumer sale is dependent on the application of many actions. That is, there is no single solution here and many actions that redistribute, involve communities and use on-line technologies will help to reduce food waste and create awareness of responsible use of foods. The study reported here highlights the value of preservation technologies and the need for food category models that take account of differing shelf life and quality considerations because these will help to guide food policy. Previous studies of fresh and frozen shelf life of foods have shown a reduction in household waste associated with frozen food use ( Martindale, 2014 ). A more recent study in the Netherlands has developed a stochastic model to show the influence of ambient, frozen and fresh preservation on household food waste ( Janssen et al. , 2017 ). This study is critically important because it shows how food preservation methods that extend shelf life of foods in the home can reduce food waste over annual time periods. These studies also suggest that knowledge of food preparation and the best use of foods in households are critical in waste reduction.

Schemes that engage and redistribute resources to reduce food waste do not fully address the issue of food and drink products being wasted by consumers because they are not designed to reduce food waste. They redistribute food that would otherwise be waste; the study reported here focusses on reducing the wastage of food that is purchased with the intention of using it. The preservation of foods and types of food preservation methods available to consumers can facilitate this because it reduces food degradation and improves the utilisation of food in the domestic environment. This is a principle that has remained largely unconsidered even though the production of food waste increases greenhouse gas emissions or the carbon footprint of food consumption ( Garnett, 2013 ; O’Rourke, 2014 ). It is crucial to consider food waste reduction as an outcome of using preserved foods because research carried out previously demonstrated it can help us to define the sustainability of meals that consumers prepare ( Martindale, 2017 ).

In this study, it is demonstrated how frozen preservation can provide greater utilisation of food by consumers and reduce household food waste. It is not intended to show frozen is the only option for reducing consumer food waste. It is hoped that the research will highlight the use of preservation methods in reducing consumer food waste and that there are several factors that must work together in food waste reduction is to be successful. Previous research carried out in the UK market compared fresh and frozen food use in households and the amount of consumer food waste was dependent on food preservation method. The study showed a 47 per cent reduction in household food waste for frozen products compared to fresh products ( Martindale, 2014 ).

Frozen food in this study is defined by all food that is frozen via quick freezing; this ensures the cell intactness and preserves the nutritional value of the food. The process of freezing food in this household focussed study is defined as non-frozen food which gets frozen via a standard freezer (at home), as such this is slow freezing where cell structure is not maintained and it is less beneficial than quick freezing but adds to shelf life significantly. The definition of fresh food in this study is all non-frozen and non-freezing food.

Working with frozen foods not only gives us an opportunity to consider the value of food preservation in households but we must also consider manufacturing factories providing efficient use of resources and continual availability ( Tukker, 2015 ). This provides us with the opportunity to develop models of food preservation that identify control points in the supply chain that can maximise food waste reduction. Frozen and freezing foods define this requirement more effectively than many other food supply chains that do not preserve foods. The consideration of frozen or freezing foods in this study has provided an opportunity to investigate these wider impacts on food resource use by consumers. For example, freezing foods provides availability of out-of-season produce which can be included in the sustainability assessments of frozen and fresh produce ( Foster et al. , 2014 ). While these benefits of food preservation are important it is the impact on consumer food waste that is investigated here. The value of localising food supply is important in the sustainability arena if it can provide what consumers demand and increased resilience. There are studies that show localising food supply can achieve this, particularly where there are strong regional food identities and a cultural preference of using food service ( Caputo et al. , 2017 ). Localisation and the value of it to the food system are not within the scope of this current study even though it is important to consider food preservation has enabled the supply of foods that are out of season to consumers. Indeed, this was why preservation of fruits and vegetables using pickling and osmotic preserving emerged traditionally ( Martindale, 2017 ).

Frozen foods have played a pivotal role in enabling the global food supply chain to evolve and without that food losses would be increased in agriculture and processing. Many of the food supply chain issues highlighted in current food loss and food waste research do not exist with frozen foods because quick freezing leads to the extended shelf life gains that many waste reduction initiatives seek ( Parfitt et al. , 2010 ). Furthermore, freezing keeps within the conditions of “clean label” labelled trends and often provides greater portion control in the home ( Shove and Southerton, 2000 ). The “clean label” trend is now clearly identified in retail environments where there are demands for ingredient labelling that clarifies ingredients and communicates any potential allergens introduced in processing and manufacturing ( Asioli et al. , 2017 ).

The Austrian market research reported in this paper allows us to extend current understanding of the utilisation of frozen foods. It also leads us to consider the broader issue of what incentivises consumers to eat a more sustainable diet. Austrian households currently produce around 369,000 tons of packed and unpacked food waste each year and there is over 23.4 million tonnes of food waste produced by households across the EC member nations ( Bräutigam et al. , 2014 ; Stenmarck et al. , 2016 ). A sustainable diet must eliminate this food waste, the Austrian food waste volume is equivalent to 300€ of food thrown away per household year ( Lebersorger and Schneider, 2011 ; Penker and Wytrzens, 2005 ). The data presented here shows both frozen food purchases and household freezing decrease food waste significantly and this has important implications for providing sustainable meals and diets.

Research method

The Austrian market data was collected via an online survey carried out by the Institute of Marketing & Innovation, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) and Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK SE) during July 2015 ( GfK, 2016 ). The survey questionnaire obtained data from 2,800 participants on the frequency of their food purchases for fresh and frozen foods.

The survey participants were selected to represent the typical Austrian population with regard to age and educational level. The selection made for geographic distribution across the Federal States was proportional to the population in each Federal State. The selection to the panel of 2,800 was made using the GfK market survey methods used for market research. GfK are a commercial and international company that provided the survey panel of 2,800 households. GfK’s services are routinely used by the food sector by manufacturers and retailers to develop business activities and identify food and drink trends. The participants used in this survey bought food and drink for their household and were asked how much food they wasted across six food groups as a percentage of the total amount of the food they purchased. The six food groups were selected because they were important food categories in Austria that have both frozen and fresh options. Notably this included bread where the offer and purchasing of frozen bread rolls is typical for Austrian consumers.

The participants of the survey were asked to consider their household food waste in a week from the food they purchased, partly utilised food, leftovers (plate waste) and preparation residues. The core questions of the survey that asked participants to report their proportion of food purchased that was wasted as a percentage were as follows:

• What percentage of fresh food from your household purchases do you throw away?
• What percentage of the frozen food from your household purchases do you throw away?
• What percentage of fresh food from your household purchases do you throw away per following product groups?
• What percentage of frozen food from your household purchases do you throw away per following product groups?

The food groups were fruit; vegetables (including specific questions for potatoes and spinach); bread (fresh only); pasta; meat; and, fish (fish sticks also known as fish fingers for frozen foods). The core questions were developed in terms of what food product groups were wasted in households. The survey also collected demographic information so that the 2,800 participants reflected a typical sample of the Austrian population and this was determined using GfK’s demographic methods.

Research results

The amount of food waste produced in the sample of 2,800 Austrian households is shown in Figure 1 . The data show that participants reported wasted 9.3 per cent of total fresh food purchased and 1.6 per cent of total frozen food purchased. Thus, the amount of reported food waste derived from the fresh foods is 5.8-fold greater than that of frozen foods in the 2,800 households assessed. This means that the six fresh food groups have a reported food waste that is 5.8-fold greater than comparable frozen food groups (see, Figure 1 ).

The amount of food waste associated with the total purchases of fresh and frozen foods in Austrian households

Figure 2 , shows the food waste for fresh and comparable frozen food groups assessed in the Austrian study of 2,800 households. The food groups are fruits, vegetables, bread, pasta, meat and fish. Data obtained for the vegetable group were also specifically obtained for potatoes and spinach because of the importance of these products in the frozen categories. A similar approach was taken for fish products where fish sticks (also known as fish fingers) are an important frozen product category.

The percentage of food purchases wasted for the fresh and frozen food product categories assessed

Figure 2 , shows the amount of food waste derived from fresh food purchases is greater than frozen food purchases across the six food groups assessed apart from fish which is assessed as “other fish” in the reported frozen products here. These data are summarised in Table I where the ratio of fresh to frozen food waste is provided.

The ratio of fresh to frozen food group waste for 2,800 Austrian households for the food product groups assessed

Research analysis

The goal of the research reported is to show how food waste behaviours connect many sustainability issues across the complex food choices consumers make when meals are prepared. Our research shows food manufacturers and food retailers occupy critical points in supply that can determine how these food consumption behaviours can be transformed into more sustainable ones. An important way of achieving this is through reducing the food waste associated with every meal.

Figure 1 , shows fresh foods purchased have a reported 5.8-fold greater food waste compared to frozen food purchases in a survey of 2,800 Austrian households. The assessment of waste from different food groups provides important insights into how households utilise fresh and frozen foods ( Figure 2 ). Table I , shows the ratio of fresh to frozen food waste across the food groups shown in Figure 2 . It can be seen that fresh food is wasted in greater amounts than frozen food in every category except fish where fresh food waste is 0.9 of frozen food waste. The ratios show that the greatest differences between fresh and frozen food groups are seen for fruit where fresh is 10.3-fold greater than frozen and potatoes where fresh is 7.8-fold greater than frozen.

Notably, the fresh to frozen ratio of specific food products ( Figure 2 ), include fresh vegetables and frozen spinach which is 13.8; and, for fresh fish and frozen fish sticks (also known as fish fingers) it is 2.0 in Austrian households. Spinach and fish sticks are specifically tested here because they are extremely popular for meal purchases in the Austrian and other European marketplaces. The 13.8-fold greater fresh vegetable waste than frozen spinach waste; and 2.0-fold greater fresh fish waste than fish stick waste is important because these products are developed to be directly placed into meals. They emphasise the impact of food product development when it is aligned to the portioning of food in meal preparation and if this is made to be optimal there is less food waste. This relationship between method of food preservation and portioning is also apparent with other food groups such as potatoes and pasta ( Table I ).

The reduction of food waste and correct meal portioning of specific food products are important because when they align and work together they can reduce food waste. This means data collected from consumers regarding what they consider to be the correct portion size in a meal is exceptionally valuable in waste reduction actions and it is rarely done. Obtaining such data is a challenge future research into food waste will need to address so that it can be transferred to food product development operations for maximum impact. The data collected here does not consider correct portion size data specifically but it does indicate its importance. The Austrian research reported here has shown that the fresh food thrown away per household per person for this sample was 37.48 kg each year while the frozen food thrown away per household per person was 6.46 kg and per year. The nutritional losses associated with food waste have yet to be fully characterised but they are an important component of food waste projections ( Halloran et al. , 2014 ).

While we can determine the environmental impact of consuming foods in terms of their carbon footprint, it is the impact of wasting foods as an outcome of consumption that concerns us here. This is important because assessment of the environmental value of foods requires considerable investment of finance, knowledge and skills. It seems futile to make this investment if the assessed foods are wasted downstream in the food supply chain as they are prepared and consumed. New supply chain models are required to promote the value of reducing food waste and guide processes such as freezing that can reduce food waste. The data presented in Figure 1 , clearly demonstrate a means to reduce the environmental impact of the food we choose to eat by reducing waste if frozen and freezing options are considered. The difficulty is that consumers choose foods based on what they like and this frequently changes, the choices made will rarely consider the impact of high level issues such as climate change but food waste reduction will be considered. This is because there is a very clear financial benefit to eliminating household food waste.

Current carbon footprinting methods show us that agri-production and global distribution can be the least of our problems because food wastage can be up to 20 per cent of food purchases and food losses across the supply chain can be far greater than this ( Foster et al. , 2014 ). It is difficult to communicate such sustainability trade-offs in consumer arenas because debates are too complex to be made at the point of purchase. This is partly because carbon footprinting results are extremely variable due to the diversity of different food production systems and this has been tackled by developing certifications that target many sustainability goals. These have changed consumption of food by highlighting specific issues so that more ethical purchases are made such as those concerned with sustainable fishing, rainforest produce and so on. But it is day-to-day food waste at home and in supply chains that can make any diet unsustainable regardless of food certification used. Different preservation formats can reduce food waste and in the case of frozen food we know it can be reduced with respect to fresh foods because less of it is thrown away. There is no evidence that the nutritional values of frozen foods are any different to fresh foods if robust quality standards are in place from farm to fork. The nutritional losses resulting from food waste are significant and it is important to develop a food supply chain that is not losing these resources through wastage. There is not currently a certification that shows food produced with less waste or the use of food products that result in less waste and it is evident that there is a requirement to at least highlight the value of reducing consumer food waste. Food certification schemes that take household food waste reduction into account must be a future consideration in food and drink fast-moving consumer goods.

These ideas lead us to summarise the research presented here as a decision matrix model ( Table II ). The decision matrix highlights the major themes of consumer food waste reduction using frozen foods or freezing foods in households. It is proposed that such a matrix can be used to help food technologists guide the development of products with respect to preservation format and household food waste reduction. What is evident from the decision matrix analysis is a requirement to highlight the value of food preservation in reducing household food waste in the consumer space. This can be achieved by communicating through food companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility programmes as well as interventions that improve culinary knowledge in households. There are several emerging methods for achieving these interventions including digital applications that aim to reduce food waste and social media communications by creating consumer interest movements. It is important that food waste reduction initiatives integrate with these communication methods that consumers use ( Martindale, 2017 ).

The decision matrix used to define the use of food preservation to reduce consumer food waste

Research conclusion

The research reported here shows purchased fresh foods have a six-fold greater food waste compared to purchased frozen food in a survey of 2,800 Austrian households. The research supports previous research conducted in the UK where a 47 per cent food waste reduction was demonstrated for frozen foods compared to fresh foods. This relationship shows maximal resource use is achieved for frozen food products that are manufactured for the convenience of being included in meals. The conclusion is that food manufacturers, food retailers and policy makers must consider the role of food preservation in delivering a sustainable diet. The decision matrix approach here provides initial guidance in new product development a basis for doing this and it is supported by data sets that have now been obtained in the Austrian and UK markets.

Acknowledgments

The APC has been sponsored by MPC Research Ltd.

Biographies

Dr Wayne Martindale is a Project Director for the Food Insights and Sustainability Service at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing, University of Lincoln. He is CSIRO McMaster and OECD Fellow directing a diverse folio of consumer focussed research in food and drink.

Professor Walter Schiebel is a University Professor of Agricultural Marketing and Nutritional Economics with extensive experience in International Academic and Consulting Projects in Western and Eastern Europe.

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How to Reduce Food Waste in Your Business

• Written by Frank Carron
• March 18, 2024

One-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, according to The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, a report. This equates to an economic loss of US$940 billion globally. It means that more than a billion tons of food never gets consumed each year – and much of this is wholesale food waste. 

The original driver for  founders Huw and James  to set up Fresho in 2015 was to tackle waste in the fresh food supply chain. They had seen it first hand in their previous careers and felt it was morally and financially irresponsible. 

How to reduce food waste and why is it a problem?

Food waste comes with a double hit to the environment. It combines the land and water impacts of production with greenhouse gases generated by landfill. These gases are thought to account for 8% of all emissions globally.

Of course, there is also a significant financial cost, borne by farmers,  distributors , retailers, foodservice and consumers. 

Given the integrated nature of the food supply chain, the best approach to reducing waste has to be a holistic one. But there are steps that wholesalers themselves can take to limit their losses, whether measured in product or financial terms. 

Here are four ways wholesalers can  reduce fresh food waste .

1. Improving order visibility can mean less food waste

Many fresh food wholesalers pride themselves on knowing every customer, supplier and product line personally. Those relationships have real value. They are often what got a business from its humble origins to today’s success. 

But as businesses grow, customer expectations rise and competitors circle. It’s important to put systems in place to support the human touch, increase efficiency and  reduce waste . 

For distributors, these might be tools to help with order management, picking, delivery or invoicing. Systems like these can reduce operating costs. They can also cut out the delays and errors that leave customers frustrated. 

And the data they provide opens up a world of possibilities for improving how a business is run. 

Real time information on what is moving and what’s not, on which customers have reduced their orders, or on what lines are giving low margins this week. This data can help wholesalers to better predict demand and shape supply. This is a lever to reduce wastage.  

Meanwhile, visibility of stock on hand allows overstocked products or those with shorter shelf lives to be promoted as specials with a few clicks, helping to keep them moving and out of landfill.

2. Working more closely with customers

The fresh food business is fast-moving and interconnected. Wholesalers can’t address the problems of food waste on their own. Nor can chefs and venues. 

But, working together, they can  enhance sustainability , lower costs and contribute to a more efficient supply chain.

This depends on having strong relationships and communication channels between suppliers and their customers. In many cases the relationships are already in place: chefs and suppliers get to know and depend on each other and long-term loyalties form.

But day-to-day communication can vary despite this – and efficiency suffers. 

A fresh food order management platform is one way of addressing this. It can help optimise inventory and reduce inefficiency and waste. It can allow chefs and venues to work together to minimise excess stock and to reduce the time products spend in storage.

Buyers can see stock availability for their suppliers, knowing that they will receive what they need, and avoiding over-ordering.  Chefs and owners have access to an easy-to-use ordering tool that replaces random phone calls, texts and late-night voicemails, providing order visibility.

They can place and manage standing orders, so suppliers have advance visibility of what they need to have in stock.

In short, wholesalers and their customers communicate and collaborate almost daily, but often lack the tools to do it well.  Online order management can help food suppliers and venues to move from ‘just-in-case’ to ‘just-in-time’ ordering, reducing food waste in the process.

3. Showcasing seasonal and local products

Whether Spring Lamb, Autumn pumpkins or wild-caught salmon, fresh food wholesale has been driven by the seasons since it first came into existence. And even though many of us can now access the foods we want at any time of year, there is renewed interest in produce that has been grown, raised or caught in-season and in-region. 

Chefs, in particular, like to showcase what’s at its best, and what can be traced to truly local producers.

Whatever the motivation of the end consumer – freshness, supporting local growers, or reducing food miles – it’s clear that wholesalers want to prioritise readily-available seasonal and local products, while chefs strive to develop efficient, waste-reducing menus based on fresh ingredients. Anything that supports them in this must be a good thing. 

Online order management systems have the ability to do so, by letting wholesalers highlight and promote products that are coming into season or in plentiful supply, and helping chefs identify special ingredients, for example those from a new local source.

4. Donating and diverting from food waste

Nowadays there are opportunities for wholesalers to sell imperfect or close-to-expiry products to buyers at a discounted rate. Outside of food service , wholesalers could even look direct to the public, who are used to seeing ‘wonky’ fruit and veg in the supermarket. 

Food donation is another option, where wholesale distributors partner with charities to redirect surplus, edible food, effectively combating hunger and reducing waste. UKHarvest, OzHarvest and KiwiHarvest are among the organisations that redirect billions worth of excess food in their respective countries.

There is no single answer to how fresh food suppliers can reduce wholesale food waste. It takes a holistic approach to operational efficiency, across purchasing, order management, picking and delivery. It also works best when done in concert with their own suppliers and their customers, along the supply chain. 

But it’s clear that adopting strategies like these can deliver economic benefits through enhanced margins, while contributing at the same time to improved long-term sustainability.

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Frank Carron

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Food waste management: How technology and logistics can reduce food waste

Discover how innovations in technology and logistics are turning the tide against food waste, one smart solution at a time.

We need better food waste management

In a world where hunger claims lives daily, it’s a sad reality that so much food ends up in the trash. About one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted annually – about 1.3 billion tons, worth some US$1 trillion. Think of it this way: All that “surplus food” could feed two billion individuals – more than double the number of undernourished people worldwide.

What’s more, annual global food waste results in CO 2 -equivalent (GtCO2e) emissions roughly equal to the total combined emissions of the US and EU.

Food waste is, therefore, doubly problematic, exacerbating the problem of food insecurity while also harming our environment.

Here, we examine this growing problem and how state-of-the-art technology and supply chain management can prevent food from being wasted.

Facts about food waste

Nearly a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted.

All the food produced but never eaten could feed two billion people.

Annual food lost or wasted is worth about US$1 trillion.

If wasted food were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest producer of CO2, after the US and China.

Source: World Food Programme

The growing problem of food waste

As the global population grows, so does the demand for food, which increases the potential for waste. Food is wasted at every step in the food supply chain, from farms to our refrigerators. A large portion lands in the trash before even reaching a supermarket or wholesaler. There are various reasons for this: “best before” dates are nearing or have just passed, labels or fill levels are faulty, or demand is low. Unsold seasonal items like Christmas cookies are a perfect example of products thrown away because no one wants them anymore.

Food waste is a systemwide problem that requires systemwide solutions. It occurs at every stage in the food production process, including growing, processing, sorting, packaging, transportation, and sales. That’s why we collaborate with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to transform agribusiness by tackling the problem of food waste, enhancing food security, and improving global market access for producers.

As you move further down the food supply chain, the environmental impact of food waste becomes greater because all the resources used up to that point are also wasted, increasing the social cost. At these later stages, technology and logistics can play a crucial role in efficient food waste management. Below, we take a closer look at how logistics can help reduce food waste.

How can logistics reduce food waste?

There are several ways supply chain managers can reduce food waste:

• Keeping it fresh – preventing food from spoiling
• Keeping it flawless – avoiding waste due to caution
• Keeping it in the loop – redistributing discarded foods

Preventing food from spoiling or being wasted due to caution is mainly a tech challenge. Better data lets people know that food is still safe, so they don’t throw it away. Redistributing discarded foods is primarily a logistics challenge that requires dense and efficient logistics operations.

Food waste management: Keeping it fresh

Temperature is a top priority in food logistics. Cucumbers , for example, must be kept in a cool environment and handled with utmost care. Once out of the ground, they need to be taken fresh from the field and straight to a cold storage facility. Transport from there to the supermarket requires a cold chain – a logistics network that can store and transport temperature-sensitive goods under controlled conditions.

State-of-the-art cold chains use smart sensors to track and log the environmental conditions of each shipment, such as temperature, humidity, shock, light, and even air pressure. Online platform solutions house and harness the data, allowing supply chain managers to monitor each product’s entire journey, tailor transport planning, and even digitalize customs clearance processes.

Food waste management: Keeping it flawless

Spoiled food is unsafe, of course. But too much perfectly good food is thrown out due to caution. Food and beverage companies often don’t want to risk selling products past the “best before” date.

Technology can play an essential role in preventing this as well – like food waste management solutions that leverage the  Internet of Things (IoT)  in their supply chains. These solutions enable real-time monitoring of food items, which helps keep the food fresh and provides accurate data that tells people the products are safe for consumption. With this information, we can avoid the mistake of throwing out good food.

Want it Delivered?

Why go looking for the latest logistics trends and business insights when you can have them delivered right to you?

Case Study: Reducing food waste on Avanti West Coast trains

DHL Supply Chain has managed onboard food services for Avanti in the UK since 2014. The team worked with DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation to develop a successful proof of concept for food waste management.

By deploying smart sensors across the train operator’s network, we helped reduce food waste by up to 90% – more than two tons a week! The plug-and-play sensors continuously monitor the temperature of food items, with data transmitted securely to the cloud. This allows for real-time decision-making and significantly reduces unnecessary waste.

Employees receive an alert when food should be thrown out. Reliable temperature data also helps them determine whether the contents of food boxes are still safe, eliminating waste created out of caution. Additionally, monitoring extends shelf life and meets regulatory requirements.

Following the project's success, we’re rolling the solution out across Avanti’s railway network.

Food waste management: Keeping it in the loop

You may have heard of “food sharing” – collecting unwanted, excess food products that stores would otherwise throw away and distributing them to people for consumption. But have you ever considered how that process works?

Many innovative food waste startups are developing original solutions to prevent food from being discarded. Often, these solutions involve efficient logistics and food waste management. The secret to their success is the targeted purchasing and selling of items – connecting with restaurants and food, buying the surplus food they would otherwise throw away, and selling it to consumers at discount prices before it spoils.

Logistics providers like DHL help these companies get the goods to their customers quickly, safely, and sustainably using our green logistics solutions .

Food waste management saves more than food

These success stories are just two ways logistics and technology can optimize food waste management. With the potential to drastically reduce food waste, these innovative practices set a benchmark for the industry and highlight the critical role of logistics companies in shaping a sustainable future.

The message is clear: managing food waste is a logistical challenge and an opportunity for innovation. We can save more than food by embracing technology and refining logistics processes. We can help save the planet.

DHL Freight FoodLogistics

Published: April 2024

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Related stories

Food donation as a strategy to reduce food waste in an emerging Latin American country: a case study in Uruguay

Affiliations.

• 1 Espacio Interdisciplinario, Universidad de la República, José Enrique Rodó 1843, 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay.
• 2 Sensometrics & Consumer Science, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Rutas 8 y 101 S/N, 91000 Pando, Canelones Uruguay.
• 3 MAPP Centre - Research on Value Creation in the Food Sector, Aarhus University, Fuglesangsalle 4, 8210 Aarhus V, Denmark.
• 4 Instituto Nacional de Alimentación, Ministerio de Desarrollo Social, Piedras 165, 11000 Montevideo, Uruguay.
• PMID: 38625195
• PMCID: PMC10124677
• DOI: 10.1186/s41110-023-00208-9

Abstract: Food donation has expanded globally and has become a common form of food assistance in emerging countries. However, research on food donation experiences in these settings is still scarce.

Purpose: In this context, the objectives of the present work were as follows: (i) to explore the views of Uruguayan stakeholders on food donation as a strategy to reduce food waste, (ii) to identify barriers and enablers for food donation in Uruguay, and (iii) to explore the organizational characteristics of Uruguayan food banks.

Methods: A qualitative approach based on two data collection strategies was used: documentary content analysis of official governmental documents and in-depth semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders related to food waste and food donations in Uruguay.

Results: Food donation emerged as a central strategy for food waste reduction in the view of Uruguayan stakeholders, mainly because it was perceived as an efficient strategy to reduce food insecurity. The complexity of food donation was acknowledged by Uruguayan stakeholders and who identified several barriers for its implementation related to economic considerations, the characteristics of the donated products, legal and commercial considerations, and organizational characteristics of food banks.

Conclusion: Although most barriers were aligned with results from previous studies conducted in developed countries, some specificities to the Uruguayan context were also identified. Clear and detailed legal frameworks to ensure that the donated products reach the target population along with nutritional requirements for the foods to be donated were deemed necessary.

Keywords: Emergency food programs; Food bank; Food security; Sustainability.

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

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