Search Results (23)

Food waste poses critical environmental, economic, and social challenges, with consumer behavior recognized as a key leverage point for intervention. Packaging plays a vital role in preserving food quality and reducing waste, yet its behavioral influence on household food waste (HFW) remains underexplored. This review systematically examines 52 studies investigating the impact of food packaging—excluding storage/date labeling—on consumer food waste (CFW) behaviors. Using a structured methodology, we classified studies by methodological design, geographic coverage, food types, and focal packaging features. The analysis reveals a dominant reliance on consumer surveys and short-duration diaries, with limited application of rigorous experimental methods. Geographically, the English-language literature is skewed toward high-income countries, particularly Australia and Europe, with notable gaps in regions such as Asia and Africa. Moreover, despite U.S. households discarding approximately 40% of their food, research coverage remains limited. The findings also expose a misalignment between research focus and consumer-perceived importance of packaging features; attributes such as transparency, grip/shape, and dispensing mechanisms are frequently rated as important by consumers but are under-represented in the literature. This review contributes by identifying these gaps, synthesizing behavioral evidence, and offering a roadmap for future research and design innovation. By better aligning packaging functionalities with real-world behaviors, this work supports the development of consumer-informed solutions to mitigate HFW and promote sustainable food systems. Full article

One method of quantifying food wastage in households is a food waste diary. The goal of this study is to evaluate the reliability of food waste diaries as a methodology of waste-level measurements. This form of self-reporting is considered to underestimate the levels of food wastage because of three phenomena. The so-called self-selection bias is minimized by the chosen study set-up. The under-reporting and prevention effects were determined by measuring the food waste levels amongst 80 participating households. In week 1, the food waste amounts were determined by individual waste sorting analysis; in week 2, they used a food waste diary followed by a waste sorting analysis. The use of food waste diaries leads to a considerable prevention effect of 20%. Individual sorting analysis of uninformed households showed a generation of 59 kg∙inh⁻¹∙yr⁻¹ of avoidable food waste and 28 kg∙inh⁻¹∙yr⁻¹ of non-avoidable food waste. When using food waste diaries, these amounts dropped to 47 and 23 kg∙inh⁻¹∙yr⁻¹, respectively. In the study, instead of an under-reporting effect, the analyses showed an over-reporting of 7%. In medium-rise housing, the food wastage level is lower than in the overall population of the study, whereas both the prevention effect and the over-reporting is higher. Low-rise housing shows the highest initial food waste level. High-rise housing shows the smallest prevention effect. In the countryside, both the food wastage level and the prevention effect are significantly lower than elsewhere. In smaller towns, a slight under-reporting effect was observed; elsewhere there was an over-reporting effect. Further research might focus on if and how long the prevention effect of the food waste diaries lasts amongst Polish households. Full article

Household food waste accounts for a significant share of total food waste. In 2022, around 1.05 billion tons of food waste were generated—60% of which came from households. In the EU, households generate 54% of the total food waste. In Italy, according to a former diary study, avoidable household food waste accounts for 529.9 g per capita per week. Building on this data, this study assesses the monetary value of food waste at the household level in 6 provinces across the country, considering the prices of food items recorded by the Italian Observatory of market prices. Moreover, the environmental impacts of household food waste (greenhouse gas emissions, water consumed, and land used) were investigated based on existing data from well-grounded scientific literature. The results show that the monetary value of food waste ranges from EUR 357.43 to EUR 404.62 per household per year, corresponding to 5–7% of the average household expenditure for food. The environmental impacts per household per year account for 149 kgCO₂eq, which contributes to climate change. In addition, household food waste is responsible for 303,498 L of water consumed and 1426 m² of land used. The results of this study can be integrated into National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), to integrate food waste reduction into energy savings and greenhouse gas mitigation strategies. Full article

Food waste is a global challenge and fits within the remit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12; hence, strategies to promote engagement, especially at an individual level, are key to maximise societal benefits. Accordingly, it is important to understand the relevant design cues from a segmentation and intervention viewpoint for food waste. This review aims to explore (i) common characteristics associated with food waste segmentation and (ii) delivery formats typically utilised in food waste interventions. Overall, it was apparent that food waste encompasses a broad term per se, resulting in varying quantification approaches, which subsequently contribute to heterogenicity of the findings. However, key themes emerged, such as gender, age, food waste level, motivation, engagement and environment as common components from the food waste segmentation. Visual (text, infographic, booklets), audio/oral (videos, door stepping, coaching), interactive (recipe, community engagement, diary/notepad) and touch (magnet, bins, stickers) were the dominant delivery formats used in food waste interventions; suggesting that a combination of senses is required to successfully promote engagement and behavioural effects. Going forwards, more consistency in measuring food waste is needed to enable comparison (within and between countries), coupled with the consideration of design cues, so that toolkits can be developed to meet the needs of differing consumer segments. Full article

Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) and national waste reduction goals require frequent waste analyses for monitoring and governance decisions. We developed and tested a citizen science (CS)-based household waste diary for ten consecutive days with 89 volunteer households in Switzerland as a complementary monitoring option to official composition analyses. Discrepancies between the CS-based household diary data and the official composition analyses ranged between 55–65% less reported waste quantities for minerals, compound products, and plastics and 80–90% less for paper, avoidable food waste, and glass. Household waste diaries should be digitalized and prolonged to 21–28 days, and volunteers from different demographic groups are needed to produce stratified, representative results. We conclude that a hybrid CS study design involving waste composition analyses and waste diaries could reduce self-reporting biases while increasing the monitoring frequencies of household waste compositions. CS-based hybrid household waste projects can be a powerful means to complement the measures identified in the 2022 Swiss action plan against food waste and for data reporting for the SDG 12.3 Food Waste Index. Full article

Household food waste is a significant problem in America that can only be addressed through accurate measurement. However, there are many different measurement methods that each have advantages and disadvantages: subjective measures (i.e., recall, visual estimation) are easier to implement via surveys but can be biased, and objective measures (i.e., scales) can be precise but logistically burdensome. In this study, we collected survey and daily diary data on household food waste from 257 individuals to evaluate the extent to which a survey-based subjective recall measure, a diary-based objective scale measure, and a diary-based subjective estimation measure demonstrate convergent validity or concordance. We found evidence of substantial overlap across measures (r = 0.41 to 0.70), suggesting that there is convergent validity across these household food waste measures. Furthermore, we found that a substantial portion of variance in household food waste is attributable to within-household sources over time, demonstrating the as-of-yet overlooked need to examine predictors of food waste at between- (stable) and within-household (dynamic) levels. We discuss the further implications of these results and future research directions. Full article

Food waste management is one of the key challenges of the circular economy and climate transition policies. The proper collection of food waste is the starting point for its further value recovery. Most of the quantitative and qualitative data used to measure the scale of food waste in households and its collection are based on statistical data, diaries, and questionnaires. There is a visible gap in research in terms of the use of direct research methods. This paper presents the results of a quantitative research study on household food waste accumulation and collection in Warsaw from two sources: single-family and multi-family households. The results of the study indicate that in Warsaw households, one can expect generation at the level of 33.4 kg·capita⁻¹·year⁻¹ of avoidable food waste and 38.2 kg·capita⁻¹·year⁻¹ of unavoidable food waste. The average food waste collection rate from households in Warsaw was determined to be at a level of 19.6 kg·capita⁻¹·year⁻¹. In multi-family buildings, which are dominant in Warsaw, this rate is half as pronounced (17.3 kg·capita⁻¹·year⁻¹) compared to single-family buildings (36.2 kg·capita⁻¹·year⁻¹). The average food waste collection efficiency rate from Warsaw households was at a level of 32%. Avoidable food waste accounted for 47% of all food waste generated. The study indicates a growing need to develop policy tools to support the separate collection and prevention of food waste. Full article

The current study investigates which motivations to reduce food waste influence respondents’ likelihood to accurately self-assess food waste quantities. Some studies suggest that motivations to prevent household food waste influence respondents’ behaviors, but others highlight that routine and daily life often represent an obstacle to acting consistently. To this end, this study observed if a certain set of motivations actually influences the perceived quantity of food waste produced; in other words, if the motivation to reduce food waste is a driver of coherent behavior and awareness. The results were drawn from weekly food diaries and then compared with online questionnaires run on a sample of 388 households. A random forest has been performed to identify the relevant variables, able to predict the food waste self-assessment. The results show that no specific motivation is related to a better awareness of food waste quantities, nor to the actual waste average. Full article

Coffee cherry pulp, a major waste product from coffee manufacturing, contains polyphenols with antioxidant activity. However, its clinical safety and health benefits are unclear. This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the safety and potential efficacy of coffee cherry pulp juice concentrate. A total of 61 participants were randomly divided into a study group (n = 30), receiving the juice, and a control group (n = 31), receiving a placebo drink of 14 g twice daily for 12 weeks. Adverse symptoms, changes in body weight, hematological and biochemical parameters, vital signs, and heart function were evaluated using subject diaries, interviews, blood and urine tests, and electrocardiograms. The results showed no intervention-related adverse events. Body weight, liver, renal function, complete blood counts, blood glucose, urinalysis, and electrocardiograms were not significantly altered throughout the study. Consuming the juice for at least 8 weeks significantly decreased cholesterol and LDL levels. The glucose levels were maintained significantly better than those of the placebo group. The findings suggest that continuously consuming 28 g/day of coffee pulp juice concentrate for 12 weeks is safe in healthy volunteers. Future studies could employ a dose of ≤28 g/day to investigate the efficacy of this novel food, especially for preventing dyslipidemia and diabetes. Full article

Global society is wasting food at unsustainable levels, and unconsumed food is contributing markedly to carbon emissions. Simultaneously, food insecurity and obesity are increasingly prevalent concerns in high-income countries. This study aimed to evaluate food waste at the household level to understand relationships between discarded food, food processing and household characteristics. A sociodemographic and food security survey of householders in Hampshire (UK) was conducted alongside a seven-day photographic food waste diary. Of the total food waste from 94 participants, 87% was unprocessed, 51% was avoidable or potentially avoidable and 36% was unavoidable. Of the total food waste, 61% occurred during food preparation. Greater amounts of avoidable food waste occurred in one, three and four+ person households than in two-person households. Potentially avoidable food waste was greater in households educated to postgraduate and university degree level than others. The outcomes of this study indicate that the focus on interventions should vary demographically. Interventions that support food security, improving diet quality and saving money, while reducing avoidable and unprocessed food waste, in one, three and four+ person households during food preparation are one option. Reducing potentially avoidable unprocessed food waste is a priority in households educated to university degree level and above. Full article

Given that about 40% of the total food produced globally is lost or wasted, there is an urgent need to understand what, where, why and how much food waste is generated. In this study, we collected the much-needed primary empirical data from the restaurants, hotels and caterers of Lahore, Pakistan through surveys and live tracking/diaries. Specifically, two key performance indicators, waste per customer (g) and percentage waste per day (%), were measured. Waste per customer was found to be 79.9 g (survey) and 73.4 g (live tracking) for restaurants, 138.4 g for hotels and 140.0 g for caterers. Similarly, the percentage of waste per day (%) was found to be 15% (survey) and 17% (live tracking) for restaurants. Results revealed that customer plate leftovers were reported to be the primary source of food waste, followed by inaccurate customer forecasting. Given the food waste levels identified in this study, the development and adoption of a national goal and target aimed at food waste reduction could usefully guide the efforts of all stakeholders. To achieve this, we need to build the capacity of all the relevant stakeholders on food loss and waste measurements and ensure national food waste reporting. Full article

(1) Background: Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing the fastest urbanization worldwide. People in rural areas still have a traditional and rural lifestyle, whereas the Westernization of diet and lifestyle is already evident in urban areas. This study describes dietary habits of families in Burkina Faso living at different levels of urbanization. (2) Methods: Data on lifestyle, socio-economic conditions, health status and anthropometry were collected from 30 families living in rural villages, a small town and the capital city. A food frequency questionnaire and a 24 h recall diary were used to estimate dietary habits and macronutrients intake. (3) Results: The urban cohort showed a more diversified diet, with a higher intake of animal protein and, especially in children, a higher consumption of simple sugars. Fiber intake was significantly higher in the rural and semi-urbanized cohorts. As expected, overweight and obesity gradually increased with the level of urbanization. In semi-urbanized and urban families, we observed coexistence of under- and over-nutrition, whereas in rural families, a portion of children were wasted and stunted, and adults were underweight. (4) Conclusions: These three cohorts represent a model of the effect on diet of rural-to-urban migration. Rural diet and traditional habits are replaced by a Western-oriented diet when families move to urbanized areas. This dietary transition and increased socio-economic status in newly developing urban areas have a major impact on disease epidemiology, resembling the past evolution in Western countries. Full article

Commercial mushroom production is based on composted locally available agro-industrial wastes rich in carbon and nitrogen such as wheat straw supplemented with chicken manure. Either component can be replaced by other kinds of grain straw: barley, oat, or a mixture of different straw types and combined with diary manure—food waste digestate after anaerobic biogas digestion. Original, unseparated liquid digestate is nutritious, rich in nitrogen and organic matter. This research aimed to investigate the effect of digestate and different straw ratios on the composting process and productivity and their consequent effect on mushroom cultivation parameters of Agaricus subrufescens. All investigated experimental mushroom compost (EMC) types worked well during the composting process, reaching the desired moisture of 65–75%, N content of 1.43–1.93%, and a C/N ratio ranging from 21.5 to 29.1, supporting growth of mycelium and producing mushrooms. Supplementation with barley straw resulted in better EMC structure with the highest yield and biological efficiency (BE) (157.9 g kg⁻¹; 64%), whereas oat addition gave the lowest yield and BE (88.6 g kg⁻¹ and 38%). Precociousness (yield at mid-cycle of the crop development) was higher for oat substrates (68.9%), while earliness (days to harvest from casing) was lower for barley EMC. Full article

Food waste originating in households in the Czech Republic is an important but unknown issue. Due to the country’s membership among the most developed economies (European Union, OECD) and its commitments towards UN Sustainable Development Goals, the government must, inter alia, significantly reduce household food waste. However, reliable data and indicators based on internationally agreed approaches and methods have been missing so far. This article brings original results from a survey comprising over 400 Czech households based on the kitchen diaries method showing that, on average, surveyed households discarded 2.6 kg (1.1 kg per capita) weekly. After extrapolation, the total food waste was estimated to be 135.7 kg per household or 57.1 kg per capita annually. Half of the total food waste from surveyed households was thrown into municipal bins for mixed waste. Despite a relatively low total food waste stream, its disposal needs substantial improvement to meet national and international regulations as well as sustainability criteria. Full article

Food and plastic waste are cited as major environmental challenges. The function of packaging is often overlooked when considering waste; however, food packaging is indispensable for hygienic protection during transport and distribution within the supply chain. An important way to prevent the premature spoilage of a variety of different food product groups is to use specially optimized packaging systems. These are able to provide a high level of protection and actively extend shelf life. However, even if novel packaging systems theoretically have great potential for waste reduction, it remains uncertain whether they will also be accepted at the consumer level and actually contribute to waste reduction within households. Three different methods were used to clarify consumers’ perceptions of optimized packaging and thus the potential impact on waste generation. General perceptions have been identified by means of quantitative research among 1117 consumers. Precise information on waste generation behavior was obtained by means of food diaries. Consumer simulations were used to analyze the extent to which optimized packaging can actually have a positive effect on food waste generation at the household level. It was found that the functionality of the packaging usually ceases with the consumer. Consumers are only marginally aware of the advantages of food product packaging in the household, and do not perceive the direct connection between packaging, freshness, shelf life, and spoilage as food waste. In general, consumers rarely or never use optimized packaging at home correctly. It could be concluded that consumers’ perceptions of optimized packaging in terms of potential food waste prevention are not pronounced. In summary, it can be stated that in contrast to its use in retail and transport, an optimization of packaging to avoid food waste for later use by the consumer only shows an effect in exceptional cases, or can only be achieved through targeted information campaigns. If this should be a focus topic in the future, either on the political or managerial level, this has to be taken into account. Full article