The objectives of this 8-week study were to assess the amount (weight) of pre-consumer (production) food waste at a large university, serving 18,000 meal plan holders, and identify major contributors of food waste (i.e. food categories, types of waste). Dining facility managers and waste coordinators (WCs) were voluntarily recruited from three dining facilities to oversee all food waste data collection and entry by dining staff, and attend weekly meetings with the research team. Food waste was weighed by staff at the designated facilities using institutional food scales. Information about the food waste was then written on tracking sheets and entered into an online database. The tracking sheet and database contained information on: product description (i.e. food type), reason for waste, weight of food (lbs), disposal method (compost/food scraps, diverted, or trash), and any related comments. Waste analysis included aggregating weekly data by total waste (lbs), facility, food type, food groups of MyPlate, and reason for food waste. Quantitative results from this study reveal that thousands of pounds of food waste are disposed of each week, especially for proteins and grains. Results derived from qualitative interviews and focus groups indicated that waste tracking is beneficial for staff buy-in, creating waste standards to improve efficiency, and adjusting food production schedules. Implications from these results indicate ability to help guide policy and practice, and provide insight into major contributors of institutional food waste. / Master of Science

The main goal of this study is to investigate stimulus that can be used to increase consumers purchase intentions toward suboptimal food products. Consumers seem to have low preferences to buy fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, products with damaged package and close to the expiration date, usually called suboptimal food products. However, rejection of suboptimal food is an important contributor to food waste levels. Interventions aimed at encouraging the purchase of suboptimal food are scarce, however needed. This study used the theory of normative influence to test the effect of both descriptive and injunctive norms on a product with an unusual appearance, a product with a reduced expiration date and a product with a damaged package. The first study tested different messages appeals to create a realistic norm in study 2. From this study, it was selected the social message appeal and the frequencies of purchase toward each product, using them in the messages as the prevalent norm The second study analysed the effect of injunctive and descriptive norms of purchase intentions toward suboptimal food and also tested the effect of environmental concern and food waste problem awareness. Results show that both environmental concern and food waste problem awareness impact purchase intentions toward suboptimal food. Additionally, appeals employing social norms proved to affect purchases intentions toward these products. However, this effect only occurred for the vegetable with an unusual appearance and the product with a package damaged. For the product with a reduced expiration date the norms had no effect. Moreover, for the product with an unusual appearance, food waste problem awareness mediated the effect of injunctive norm on purchase intentions. Based on the results, this study contributes to the theory of normative influences by showing that, in a general way, this theory is applied to food waste reduction issues, more specifically, with suboptimal food consumption. However, it is necessary to consider the type of sub-optimally and the context where the influence is applied. Additionally, was discussed how social norms can be used to tackle food waste and the implications for marketing and policy actions.

The main goal of this study is to investigate stimulus that can be used to increase consumers purchase intentions toward suboptimal food products. Consumers seem to have low preferences to buy fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, products with damaged package and close to the expiration date, usually called suboptimal food products. However, rejection of suboptimal food is an important contributor to food waste levels. Interventions aimed at encouraging the purchase of suboptimal food are scarce, however needed. This study used the theory of normative influence to test the effect of both descriptive and injunctive norms on a product with an unusual appearance, a product with a reduced expiration date and a product with a damaged package. The first study tested different messages appeals to create a realistic norm in study 2. From this study, it was selected the social message appeal and the frequencies of purchase toward each product, using them in the messages as the prevalent norm The second study analysed the effect of injunctive and descriptive norms of purchase intentions toward suboptimal food and also tested the effect of environmental concern and food waste problem awareness. Results show that both environmental concern and food waste problem awareness impact purchase intentions toward suboptimal food. Additionally, appeals employing social norms proved to affect purchases intentions toward these products. However, this effect only occurred for the vegetable with an unusual appearance and the product with a package damaged. For the product with a reduced expiration date the norms had no effect. Moreover, for the product with an unusual appearance, food waste problem awareness mediated the effect of injunctive norm on purchase intentions. Based on the results, this study contributes to the theory of normative influences by showing that, in a general way, this theory is applied to food waste reduction issues, more specifically, with suboptimal food consumption. However, it is necessary to consider the type of sub-optimally and the context where the influence is applied. Additionally, was discussed how social norms can be used to tackle food waste and the implications for marketing and policy actions.

The main goal of this study is to investigate stimulus that can be used to increase consumers purchase intentions toward suboptimal food products. Consumers seem to have low preferences to buy fruits and vegetables with unusual appearance, products with damaged package and close to the expiration date, usually called suboptimal food products. However, rejection of suboptimal food is an important contributor to food waste levels. Interventions aimed at encouraging the purchase of suboptimal food are scarce, however needed. This study used the theory of normative influence to test the effect of both descriptive and injunctive norms on a product with an unusual appearance, a product with a reduced expiration date and a product with a damaged package. The first study tested different messages appeals to create a realistic norm in study 2. From this study, it was selected the social message appeal and the frequencies of purchase toward each product, using them in the messages as the prevalent norm The second study analysed the effect of injunctive and descriptive norms of purchase intentions toward suboptimal food and also tested the effect of environmental concern and food waste problem awareness. Results show that both environmental concern and food waste problem awareness impact purchase intentions toward suboptimal food. Additionally, appeals employing social norms proved to affect purchases intentions toward these products. However, this effect only occurred for the vegetable with an unusual appearance and the product with a package damaged. For the product with a reduced expiration date the norms had no effect. Moreover, for the product with an unusual appearance, food waste problem awareness mediated the effect of injunctive norm on purchase intentions. Based on the results, this study contributes to the theory of normative influences by showing that, in a general way, this theory is applied to food waste reduction issues, more specifically, with suboptimal food consumption. However, it is necessary to consider the type of sub-optimally and the context where the influence is applied. Additionally, was discussed how social norms can be used to tackle food waste and the implications for marketing and policy actions.

Increasing amounts of food waste is becoming a problem in developed countries. This research project is about how to reduce food waste by tracking fridge inventory and the best-before date of fridge stored food by a smartphone application. Food waste occurs in several different ways. It can be found in the household, retail stores and in the catering and events sector. Food waste can also be classified as avoidable waste, possibly avoidable waste and unavoidable waste. This project focuses on the household sector and the use of a mobile application to track fridge inventory and best-before date. The purpose of the application is to try to reduce household food waste. There is previous research about reducing household food waste using mobile applications and they all take different approaches. This study focuses on building upon these previous approaches together with data gathered from our own questionnaire with Sweden as primary focus. The combined data results in our own mobile application solution that has been tested by users in Swedish households. The study’s research question is addressed by the use of the application during a period of one-week observation. Our data collection consists of the participants being interviewed at the end of the observation period. The interviews gathered information related to whether the users successfully reduced food wastage in their households.

In the municipal kitchens of Gothenburg, the implementation of the Gothenburg Model for reduced food waste has resulted in reducing the food waste by half in two years. The objective of this study is to contribute in the work of food waste prevention at the street markets in São Paulo by investigating how a model like the Gothenburg Model could be created and implemented. The study has mainly been carried out through a field study on a selection of street markets in São Paulo by performing observations, interviews and estimations of the food waste quantities. The findings of the study are that a model alike the Gothenburg Model could be of relevance at the street markets. It was found that both the model as a tool and as a process could be of use, with the phase of motivating and training the workers having special importance. The social responsibility felt by the vendors has been identified as a great opportunity to present not only donation but also food waste prevention as a social issue. The heterogeneity between the different market stalls and the lack of management on each market presents a challenge in the development and implementation of a tool. Further work should therefore be done to find solutions applicable to the various vendors and to investigate the eventual existence of natural leaders. / I Göteborgs kommunala kök har införandet av Göteborgsmodellen för reducerat matavfall resulterat i att matsvinnet halveras på två år. Syftet med denna studie är att bidra till arbetet med förebyggande av matsvinn på gatumarknaderna i São Paulo genom att undersöka hur en modell som Göteborgsmodellen skulle kunde skapas och införas på plats. Studien har huvudsakligen genomförts genom en fältstudie på ett antal gatumarknader i São Paulo genom att utföra observationer, intervjuer och uppskattningar av matsvinnsmängderna. Resultatet av studien är att en modell lik Göteborgsmodellen skulle kunna vara relevant på gatumarknaderna. Man fann att både modellen som verktyg och som process skulle kunna användas, med särskild betydelse i motivering och träning av försäljarna. Det sociala ansvaret som leverantörerna känner har identifierats som en utmärkt möjlighet att presentera inte bara donation utan även förebyggande av matsvinn som en social fråga. Heterogeniteten mellan de olika marknadsstånden och bristen på ledning på varje enskild marknad utgör en utmaning när det gäller utveckling och implementering av ett verktyg. Ytterligare arbete bör därför göras för att hitta lösningar relevanta för de olika försäljarna och för att undersöka den eventuella förekomsten av naturliga ledare.

M. Tech. (Department of Tourism and Integrated Communication, Faculty of Human Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Background: Food waste in the foodservice units, which include supermarket kitchens, occur due to factors related to the menu such as the lack of careful menu planning, improper procurement of the menu items, lack of menu execution and improper practices during the distribution of meals. Also, improper refrigeration and storage facilities at optimal temperatures to maintain product’s shelf life contribute to food waste in foodservice units. Food waste management is a significant challenge globally and locally. Purpose of the study: To determine the knowledge on food waste and waste prevention practices of food handlers in supermarket kitchens in Soweto. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive research design was chosen to determine the knowledge and food waste prevention practices of food handlers. The population was 11 branches of supermarkets represented by one of the five largest franchise stores in South Africa with approximately 20 to 35 food handlers employed by each supermarket (± 220 total) as indicated by management. Only three supermarkets gave permission for the study. From the population, the survey system calculator was used to calculate the sample size (n=107). Purposive sampling was used to select the supermarkets and participants were conveniently sampled. A questionnaire based on reviewed literature was developed by the researcher to determine food handlers’ knowledge on food waste. An existing observation checklist was also amended for this study. Before the observations began, the researcher was alert about the reactivity problems. Data were collected during different times of the month, and the observations were conducted at different times of the day in each supermarket to measure the behaviour that was demonstrated by food handlers in the morning and in the afternoon. Collective instances of food waste practices were observed. For this study, descriptive statistics were used (SPSS version 27) to analyse the food waste knowledge of food handlers in supermarket kitchens. Presentation of the results was in the form of graphs, tables and charts. A frequency table was used. Results: The demographic profile of the participants indicated that many participants were women (60.7%) and 39.3% were men. The results suggest that to a larger extent, the food handlers have limited or insufficient knowledge on the customer’s profiles. The general food waste knowledge results was good. However only 47.7% of the respondents agreed that food waste can led to environmental damage. The majority of the responds (61.7%) strongly agreed that careful menu planning contributes towards preventing food waste. Food handles knowledge on food storage was good. Food preparation results reflected a good level of knowledge regarding the appropriate methods of food preparation to minimise food waste. Food handlers’ knowledge results revealed that participants had a moderate (45.4%) level of knowledge of green practices. There was a high level of knowledge on waste separation (82.3%). None of the supermarkets participated in any of the compositing activities to manage food waste. The observation results revealed poor waste prevention practices as influenced by the lack of menu planning. Lastly, menu planning results indicated that staff members recognise the importance of careful menu planning (61.7 percent strongly agreed) contributing towards preventing food waste. Factors and actions that were observed on food handler’s practices were mostly correct (56.7%) and 43.3 percent of the practices were lacking during food production in the kitchen. The results of the current waste prevention practices of food handlers in supermarkets revealed the necessity to develop food handlers’ guidelines. Conclusion and recommendations: It is evident that the supermarket food handlers may not be aware of the importance of a menu as a communication tool, which has a major influence on all the aspects of the foodservice unit including food waste prevention and management. Food handlers’ level of knowledge findings on food waste did not align with practices that were observed during meals production in supermarket kitchens. The level of food handlers’ knowledge and waste prevention practices has been determined and the guidelines on food waste prevention practices for this target group has been developed as the basis for further studies.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

This paper examines two contrasting ethical approaches to waste within the context of modern day western food poverty and attempts to examine the justifications that these ethical definitions of waste might lend to impoverished people in re-appropriating the wasted food for themselves. Towards the end of the paper there is also a brief discussion regarding the political implications that can be found in competing ethical definitions of waste.

The food production system has been acknowledged as a problem that needs to be addressed in order to achieve a sustainable society. Hertwich and Peters (2009), estimate that 10-30% of an individual’s environmental impact is related to the industrial production and consumption of food. The problem is aggravated by the wastage of one third of the global food production. The consequences of the wastage of food are the loss of resources, such as energy, water, land and labour and unnecessary emissions of pollutants. In order to address this problem several actions have been proposed. The Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which Sweden has committed to fulfil, aims to reduce by half the amount of food waste along the production and supply chain by 2030. Retail is an important player in the food supply chain. Its influence spreads both upstream to suppliers and downstream to consumers. Therefore, this research aims to contribute to reduction of the environmental impacts related to food waste in retail, by identifying products with high environmental impacts. The main goals of this study are 1) the quantification of food waste produced by the supermarket and 2) to examine the environmental impacts of selected products in order to assess the impacts generated by the waste production at the supermarket. The findings of the research revealed 1) the importance of not only measuring the food waste in terms of mass, but also in terms of environmental indicators and costs. The results indicate bread as an important contributor for the environmental footprint of the supermarket and a potential product for interventions 2) Sorting the organic content of the products from its packaging before sending it to the current waste treatment leads to a reduction in the carbon footprint. The research identified the following recommendations: 1) increasing supermarket personnel and consumers’ awareness regarding the environmental impact of food waste, 2) finding alternative routes for waste treatment and 3) improving logistic operations.