Plate Waste Generated by Spanish Households and Out-of-Home Consumption: Results from the ANIBES Study

Abstract

Food waste is a major environmental issue that must be tackled in order to achieve a sustainable food supply chain. Currently, in Spain there are no studies that examine the amounts and sources of plate waste (PW) produced by both household and out-of-home consumption. The present study aims to provide this information from a representative sample from the Spanish population. A total of 2009 individuals aged 9–75 years, from the ANIBES study (“anthropometric data, macronutrients and micronutrients intake, practice of physical activity, socioeconomic data and lifestyles in Spain”), completed a three-day dietary record, collected by a tablet device. Photographs of all foods and beverages consumed both at home and outside were taken before and after meals. Median PW across the total population was 7.3 (0.0–37.3) g/day and was significantly higher in females than males (p < 0.05) and in children vs. adolescents, adults, and elderly (p < 0.01). Regarding meals, PW across all age groups was higher at lunch (40%), dinner (27%), and breakfast (11%). The highest PW was observed for bread (25%) main courses (16%), first and second courses (15%), vegetables and fruits (12%), ready-to-eat meals (10%), cereals and grains (10%), oils and fats (10%), pulses (10%), meat products (8%), sauces and condiments (8%), and starters (8%). Our results reinforce the need for new strategies to focus on reducing plate leftovers, which are crucial from a nutritional, economic, and environmental point of view. Additionally, this evidence is important for relying on more accurate information on actual intakes when using dietary surveys.

Environmental and Political Determinants of Food Choices: A Preliminary Study in a Croatian Sample

“…For example, a study about food waste at the household level in the Netherlands revealed that increasing age had a diminishing impact [44]. Furthermore, according to the ANIBES study, household plate waste generated by Spanish consumers [45] and the amount of food waste (mostly generated by cooking excessive amounts) in Hungarian households decreases with age [46]. In contrast, in some studies age did not have significant influence [47,48].…”

Are the Slimmer More Wasteful? The Correlation between Body Mass Index and Food Wastage among Chinese Youth

“…The existing literature suggests that human decision-making is highly complicated. The subjective and objective characteristics, including demographic and economic factors [18], diet culture [6,36], social rules [37], perceptions [19], attitudes [38,39], dining factors [40], information intervention [9,11], and other factors can affect food-wasting behavior. However, it was found that the impact of the above-listed factors is not consistent under different circumstances.…”

“…The second issue was to determine how to obtain food waste data. To date, food diaries and second-hand data methods [27], visual estimation [33], self-report [34], the photography method [18], and the direct weighing methods have been used [17,39]. The direct weighing method is more objective, accurate, and reliable than the others [16,45].…”

“…For family-level characteristics, three variables, including family origin [12,28], household size [29], and family economic condition were introduced [18,60]. By doing so, the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors at the family level could be controlled.…”

“…Previous studies have attempted to clarify food wastage from the standpoint of traditional influencing factors [18,19], such as demographics, economic traits, social characteristics, social norms, and individual subjective perceptions (i.e., beliefs, attitudes, and tendencies). Nevertheless, almost no study has investigated the abovementioned issue from a body size or body mass index (BMI) perspective.…”