Food waste as an index of foodservice quality

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate waste at a Portuguese university setting in order to suggest improvements on foodservice sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The work was developed during four weeks in order to allow the evaluation of parameters of an entire menu cycle. The index of waste/consumption (%) was obtained by the ratio between plate waste and the quantity of foods distributed, subtracting the weight of leftovers. Findings – The average index of waste/consumption was approximately 24 percent, higher in the days with a fish menu, values considered unacceptable. Each canteen user is served with approximately 940 g of foods, from which only 660 g were effectively consumed, corresponding to 80 g of leftovers and 200 g of waste. Originality/value – It seems possible and desirable to reduce food waste in order to optimize food unit profitability and sustainability. Reducing food waste will contribute to improve foodservice quality as well as consumer's satisfaction. Potential strategies to achieve this goal may include previous booking of meals, to adopt tray less during lunch and additionally analyze the eating patterns for a particular forecasted meal, and then prepare and serve food based on the appropriate forecast.

Determinants of Plate Leftovers in One German Catering Company

“…This result is in line with findings from Harnack et al [73] that taste is the most important criterion for choosing food in different settings and from WRAP [74] for school canteens, where disliking food is an important reason for plate leftovers. Moreover, it may be interpreted as support for the link between food waste and consumer satisfaction [25] and hence also stresses the relevance of food service design in order to influence food waste from guests. Overall, our model provides sufficient fit to data and reaches a good R 2 for behavioral intention, as well as a satisfactory R 2 for leftover behavior.…”

“…However, it could also be that reducing food waste requires disproportionally high efforts resulting in high input of labor or time [6]. Independent of this, at the level of guests, a low share of leftovers have been described as potential indicator of consumer satisfaction, i.e., assuming "good" satisfaction being related to a ratio of less than 1:10 between food waste and food consumption [25]. In line with this perspective, consumer food waste in food services relates to aspects such as menu offerings [25,26], portion sizes [27] or serving styles [28].…”

“…Independent of this, at the level of guests, a low share of leftovers have been described as potential indicator of consumer satisfaction, i.e., assuming "good" satisfaction being related to a ratio of less than 1:10 between food waste and food consumption [25]. In line with this perspective, consumer food waste in food services relates to aspects such as menu offerings [25,26], portion sizes [27] or serving styles [28]. Complementary, various studies on food-related behaviors of consumers in out-of-home settings indicate the relevance of personal factors, such as attitudes and subjective norms for the choice of healthier food offerings [29], or knowledge and problem awareness for the reduction of food waste in a self-service setting [30].…”

Food Waste in School Catering: An Italian Case Study

“…Particular attention has to be given to the "Portuguese school" that presents several works addressing food waste in food catering services. Ferreira et al [20] evaluated food waste in a Portuguese university to assess the efficiency of the service. They identified an index of waste/consumption (%) obtained as the ratio between plate waste and the quantity of distributed food, subtracting the weight of leftovers.…”

Plate Waste in School Lunch Programs in Beijing, China

“…Ishdorj et al [17] found that vegetable plate waste in elementary schools increased from 52% to 58% after the implementation of a new school meal standard in the USA. Ferreira et al [18] analyzed food waste in a Portuguese university setting, and proposed the reduction of food waste as a significant solution to improve food service sustainability. Liz Martins et al [19] validated the visual estimation method for plate waste of main dishes at primary school canteens by comparing it with direct weighing.…”