Dataset on Food Waste in Households: The Case of Latvia

Abstract

This publication presents raw data from an online survey in Latvia that reflects households’ practices, opinions, attitudes, and social responsibility regarding food waste. A total of 1336 respondents (households) participated in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of three parts, with the first part focusing on daily food habits and shopping habits, the second part focusing on respondents’ opinions and social responsibility on food waste management, and the third part containing questions on the frequency of shopping for different product groups. The dataset presented in the publication includes survey questions and response options, as well as raw survey data that can be used to compare households’ food waste behavior across countries. The data can help policy makers make data-driven decisions or serve as the basis for further research.

Dataset: DOI: 10.17632/xpm9tnpg69.2, URL: https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/xpm9tnpg69/2 (accessed on 28 April 2025).

Dataset License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

1. Summary

According to Eurostat data, food waste per inhabitant in the EU amounted to 132 kg in 2022 [1], an increase from 127 kg per inhabitant in the EU in 2020 [2]. Households are also the biggest food wasters, accounting for more than 50% of total food waste. In Latvia, households wasted 134,357 tons of fresh mass in 2022, accounting for 57.8% of total food waste [1]. These statistical data are contrary to the goal set by the EU’s Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3, aiming to reduce food loss and waste [3]. As a member state of the European Union (EU), Latvia is committed to the goals of the EU. Reducing food waste is a key factor in promoting the sustainability of the food system, as the global amount of energy, water, and land used to produce food that is ultimately wasted is enormous, so there is a need to focus on actions to reduce food waste. Even though food waste has a significant economic impact on household costs [4], there are no clear factors that motivate households to reduce it. This means that to successfully reduce household food waste and achieve sustainability goals, it is necessary to understand household behavior and awareness about food waste.

The aim of the survey was to assess the practical actions, habits, awareness, knowledge, opinions, and social responsibility of Latvian households regarding food waste, in order to be aware of the real situation and to evaluate what promotes and hinders successful activities to reduce food waste in households.

The publication presents raw data from an online survey in Latvia that reflects households’ practices, opinions, attitudes, and social responsibility regarding food waste. A total of 1336 respondents (households) participated in the survey.

The dataset presented in the publication includes survey questions and response options, as well as raw survey data that can be used to compare households’ food waste behavior across countries. The data can help policy makers make data-driven decisions or serve as the basis for further research. The research data could also be used in connection with the research direction of sustainable nutrition, which is based on a low impact on the environment [5], consumer behavior regarding food waste [6], and understanding of food data labels [7].

The value of the data is that it reflects the practical actions, awareness, knowledge, and social responsibility of the Latvian households regarding food waste, including data on respondents’ actions regarding leftover, spoiled, and expired food, shopping habits, such as how often they shop and whether they use a shopping list or plan a menu for the whole week, and understanding of food waste management and its impact on the economic, social, and environmental dimensions.

2. Data Description

Data available for this article in the repository [8] contain the following:

• Survey questions and answer options in English (Questionnaire.doc). The questionnaire consisted of three parts (Figure 1), with the first part focusing on daily food habits, where respondents were given 19 statements with the following answer options: never, very rarely, rarely, sometimes, often, and always. The second part contained 19 statements on respondents’ opinions and social responsibility regarding food waste management, where they had to choose one of the following answer options: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree. The third part contained questions on the frequency of shopping for different product groups with the following answer options: once a day, every 2–3 days, every 4–5 days, once a week, and other options.

• The raw survey data (Survey_data_Latvia.xls.) with 1336 respondents’ answers to all survey questions. A total of 1336 respondents contributed to the representative data for Latvia from which conclusions can be drawn.

The survey included 1336 respondents, whose characteristics are shown in

Table 1. Characteristics of respondents by age, area of residence, and number of household members.

Indicator		Number, n	%
Age	18–27	224	16.8
	28–43	484	36.2
	44–59	477	35.7
	60–78	159	11.9
	79–96	8	0.6
Area of residence	Capital city Riga	259	19.4
	Riga region	250	18.7
	Zemgale	398	29.8
	Vidzeme	212	15.9
	Kurzeme	105	7.9
	Latgale	129	9.7
Number of household members	1	145	10.9
	2	351	26.3
	3	297	22.2
	4	324	24.3
	5	159	11.9
	6	53	4.0
	7	14	1.0
	8	5	0.4
	9	3	0.2
	10	2	0.1
	11 or more	3	0.2

and are available in the raw survey data.

The most active participants in the survey were respondents aged between 28 and 59, representing all regions of Latvia and different household sizes.

The data summary of the first part of the survey, which included questions about daily habits related to food, is shown in

Table 2. Data of the first part of the survey.

Statement	Never	Very Rarely	Rarely	Sometimes	Often	Always
I throw away foods I do not like	259	550	175	248	81	23
I throw away shriveled/rotten fruit/vegetables	127	416	197	303	172	121
I throw away spoiled food	37	257	175	241	140	486
I throw away products that have reached their expiry date	130	330	232	282	189	173
I throw away products that look unappealing	380	337	242	242	96	39
I only buy food when I need it	20	38	69	116	576	517
I buy food in small packages	29	86	179	398	476	168
I buy as much food as I need at one time	105	242	272	324	301	92
I buy as much food as I need for one week	62	125	179	262	511	197
I avoid shopping too much	29	76	147	259	486	339
I plan my meals for the next day	70	108	160	199	504	295
I prepare a meal plan before I go shopping	194	227	200	256	286	173
I cook dishes I can eat the next day	17	66	90	184	576	403
I prepare a shopping list before I go to the grocery store	89	140	132	246	397	332
I share food I cannot eat with people I know	271	281	179	290	209	106
I give away food I cannot eat	401	313	182	203	157	80
I give leftover food to people in need	629	311	133	125	88	50
I feed leftover food to my pet	587	164	102	166	163	154
I feed animals if I have leftover food	574	189	114	166	150	143

.

Latvian households waste little food and try to control their shopping habits. However, they are very reluctant to donate food.

A summary of the data from the second part of the survey on respondents’ perceptions of food waste, its impact, food waste management, and global food shortages is presented in

Table 3. Data of the second part of the survey.

Statement	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neither Agree nor Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
I think the idea of food waste management is positive	26	35	164	472	639
I think food waste management can solve the world’s food shortage	56	210	376	412	282
I think that thoughtful food waste management reduces food waste	45	110	211	525	445
I think that food waste management can improve people’s living environment	31	65	194	603	443
I think food waste management is beneficial for me	57	126	441	404	308
I can reduce food waste in my daily life	33	80	220	593	410
It is easy for me to participate in food waste management in my daily life	63	153	380	473	267
If I wanted to reduce food waste in my household, I could do it	42	65	231	613	385
I think it is my responsibility to avoid wasting food on a daily basis	32	39	150	503	612
I think it is my social responsibility to reduce food waste in everyday life	46	52	181	513	544
I am concerned that food waste will increase food shortages in the world	80	121	348	423	364
If food is wasted, I feel sad, depressed, ashamed, etc.	88	163	300	482	303
I have sufficient experience in food waste management	86	209	401	442	198
I understand the importance of food waste management	37	42	252	616	389
I know that food waste has a direct impact on the environment, the economy and society	31	50	208	570	477
From now on, I will be more effective in preventing food waste	49	76	436	566	209
I will pack uneaten food, store it in the refrigerator, and eat it later	27	30	136	553	590
Even if I do not like a certain food, I will not throw it out	106	213	361	416	240
I usually buy food at a discount and I eat it all	55	129	375	516	261

.

Latvians are aware of their responsibility to reduce food waste and understand the impact and importance of food waste in environmental, economic, and social terms.

Table 4. Data of the third part of the survey.

Product	Once a Day	Every 2–3 Days	Every 4–5 Days	Once a Week	Other Option
Vegetables	46	492	321	379	98
Fruit	50	505	303	371	107
Bread and bakery products	63	419	358	424	72
Fresh meat	36	261	289	485	265
Meat products (sausages, hot dogs, and smoked meats)	20	145	277	519	375
Fresh fish	19	46	96	286	889
Fish products (smoked, salted, pickled, etc.) and canned food	14	39	87	304	892
Milk	87	425	286	326	212
Dairy products	58	415	362	440	61
Legumes	19	73	167	402	675
Sweets	73	204	246	414	399
Canned fruit/vegetables	21	43	103	275	894

summarizes the data on shopping frequency for different product groups from the third part of the survey.

The most frequently purchased food products in Latvia are fruits, vegetables, milk, bread and bakery products, and dairy products.

Some limitations must be acknowledged, despite researchers’ efforts to ensure high-quality data collection. How respondents chose to answer the survey statements may be one of the limitations. Households from all regions of Latvia are represented in the study, but the distribution of households is not uniform. The study assessed respondents’ practical actions, habits, awareness, knowledge, opinions, and social responsibility. It did not measure the amount of food waste in households, which would be the topic for future research.

3. Methods

Data were collected through an online survey created by researchers from Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of a questionnaire developed by Polish researchers [9]—the food-wasting behaviors questionnaire, which was translated in Latvian and supplemented with statements on food waste management and questions on the frequency with which respondents bought certain product groups.

To achieve the research objective, the survey included four thematic sections corresponding to one or more of the target elements. (1) Practical activities and habits: questions focused on shopping habits, such as the use of shopping lists, shopping frequency, meal planning, food storage practices, etc. (2) Understanding and knowledge of food labeling, such as “best before” and “use by” dates, awareness of the impact of food waste, and strategies to reduce food waste. (3) Opinions and attitudes towards the causes and consequences of food waste, personal responsibility, and willingness to change the behavior. (4) Social responsibility: respondents’ views on their role in reducing food waste and whether they are influenced by environmental or ethical considerations when making food-related decisions. The content of the survey was deliberately aligned with the research objective of providing a comprehensive understanding of household behavior and attitudes, allowing the identification of both barriers and motivators for reducing food waste.

The questionnaire was created in a Google Forms template and published on the university website (Figure 2). The media showed interest in the study—both television and radio, where the lead researcher of the study was interviewed and invited Latvian citizens to take part in the study. The questionnaire was also distributed on social networks, at the Riga Food 2024 international exhibition, and at the LAMPA Festival of Talks 2024, where visitors had the opportunity to scan a QR code and fill in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed between 6 June 2024 and 30 January 2025, with a total of 1336 respondents (households) providing answers. All respondents completed the questionnaire in full, so no one was excluded.

This study was conducted according to the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679). All personal data were anonymized and processed with appropriate security measures to protect participants’ privacy. Participants provided informed consent for data collection and use by voluntarily completing a questionnaire. The questionnaire did not ask for any personally identifiable information. The survey platform was configured to prevent the collection of metadata that could be used to identify respondents. In addition, basic demographic questions were designed to be broad to avoid indirect identification.

4. Conclusions

The dataset reflects the results of the practical actions, habits, awareness, knowledge, opinions, and social responsibility of Latvian citizens regarding food waste, which allows the data to be used in several directions: (1) by policy makers when developing action plans to reduce food waste in Latvia and the EU in general; (2) to compare data with similar studies in other European countries; (3) as a basis for further research related to sustainability and the European Green Deal; and (4) in interdisciplinary research, such as sustainable nutrition, customer behavior, etc.