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Household Food Waste is considered to be the largest share of food waste along the food supply chain. Given that its recoverability is also more challenging compared to food waste in other stages of the chain, most studies on household food waste adopt a pre‐emptive approach by aiming to identify and address consumer beliefs, attitudes and actions...
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Purpose
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Citations
... Discounts can undoubtedly magnetize consumers (Theotokis et al., 2012); even those relatively indifferent to food waste may be lured by the prospect of a favorable deal. Notably, frequent buyers of discounted products do not necessarily equate to higher waste levels and might even contribute to waste reduction (Giordano et al., 2019;Hartmann et al., 2021). Therefore, discounts can wield effectiveness as a strategy to counter food waste. ...
... bread crusts, potato peel, etc.) (Blichfeldt et al., 2015;Wrap, 2017). An intermediate term refers to 'avoidable' FW that acknowledges a spectrum of edibility (Giordano et al., 2019a;Redlingshöfer et al., 2017). ...
... Afzal et al. (2022);Braun et al. (2021);Giordano et al. (2019aGiordano et al. ( , 2019b;Kasavan et al. (2021); Silvennoinen et al. (2019); Vidal-Mones et al. (2021) FW per household kg FW or average FW generated per household per week. Giordano et al. (2019a); van der Werf et al. (2018) Kitchen waste kg FW in the kitchen during preparation, storage and cooking. ...
Food waste (FW) has become a global concern, with an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes lost annually, costing about $1 trillion. Environmental and social consequences of FW are significant, contributing to 6% of European Unions’ greenhouse gasemissions and affecting global food security. FW occurs is a complex issue occurring at various stages of the food supply chain (FSC) and is influenced by multiple factors such as infrastructure, available knowledge and socio-economic conditions. Developed countries FW is more prevalent at the consumption stage, whereas in the developing countries losses occur in agricultural production, post-harvest and distribution stage. Accurate quantification of FW across the supply chain is crucial and monitoring key performance indicators helps identify areas for improvement. The European Union mandates FW measurement, aligning with sustainable development goals, emphasizing the need for effective waste prevention measures. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses approach was utilized to conduct a systematic literature review on FW key performance indicators (KPIs) and monitoring tools. The research identified 22 KPIs, categorized into three levels of the FSC: primary, secondary and tertiary. The most common KPIs included FW per capita, FW per portion and FW percentage. The study further discusses FW prevention measures and essential monitoring tools for addressing FW throughout the supply chain.
... Consumers' perception plays a central role in tackling food waste at the final consumption stage, specifically among university students [1,2], since perception, defined as "the ability to see, hear or become aware of something through the senses" [3], represents the first variable in the awareness-attitude-behavior mechanism toward food waste minimization. Specifically, interventions on food waste perception are more likely to influence changes in consumers' behavior more than interventions on food waste attitude [4]. In Europe, an amount of about 57 Mt of food waste was estimated in 2020, of which on average of 11% was generated at primary production, 20% at processing and manufacturing, 7% at retail and distribution, 9% at restaurants and food services and 53% at households, for an amount of 127 kg per person per year [5,6]. ...
... 88 Mt in Europe, it results that food waste decreased by 28%. Figure 1 illustrates the 2020 data on food waste, distinguishing per country and per supply chain stage. [4]. Data were estimated according to the different measurement methodologies suggested by the Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597 [26], and comparability was guaranteed by reporting food waste in its fresh mass weight. ...
... The largest amount of food waste is generated in households, recording the highest percentage in Italy (73%) and Poland (57%). 10 000 000 12 000 000 G e r m a n y F r a n c e I t a l y S p a i n P o l a n d B e l g i u m N e t h e r l a n d s G r e e c e P o r t u g a l D e n m a r k A u s t r i a C z e c h i a H u n g a r y S w e d e n I r e l a n d N o r w a y F i n l a n d B u l g a r i a S l o v a k i a L i t h u a n i a C y p r u s C r o a t i a L a t v i a [4]. Data were estimated according to the different measurement methodologies suggested by the Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597 [26], and comparability was guaranteed by reporting food waste in its fresh mass weight. ...
Consumers’ perception plays a central role in tackling food waste at the final consumption stage, specifically among university students. In Europe, it is estimated that 47 to 67 Mt of food waste is generated at the household level or at food service consumption, including university canteens. The present cross-country research, through an online-based questionnaire among university students, investigates students’ perception on food waste by distinguishing among two different categories: on the one side, students living with their family; on the other side, students living without their family. Further, the research distinguishes among students eating at university canteens, students preparing food at home, students purchasing take-away foods and students coming back home to eat. The study compares university students’ perception on food waste in Italy and in Poland, with the overarching purpose of shaping sustainable pathways and defining educational interventions to enhance students’ perception and awareness on food waste. Data are analyzed according to the Mann–Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. Age is a pivotal factor and suggests a generational gap in awareness and attitude toward food waste, whereas sex significantly affects food waste perception in Poland but not in Italy, suggesting a more homogeneous perception across sexes. The research highlights the impacts that socio-economic and environmental crises (e.g., climate change, the Russia–Ukraine conflict, high inflation rates) have on food waste perception in Poland, which is closer to that of Russia and Ukraine compared to that of Italy, and provides academics, practitioners and public authorities with practical and theoretical insights toward food waste minimization.
... This anxiety is linked to their compulsive buying behavior, which is the uncontrollable urge they experience to engage in purchasing certain products . Compulsive buying behavior has been identified as a contributing factor to food waste, as it leads to the acquisition of unnecessary products (Giordano et al., 2019). Therefore, to test the direct effect of food addiction on FDA users' food waste, the following hypothesis is proposed: ...
The "Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology" (UTAUT) has been extensively employed to discover the factors driving positive adoption of new technologies. However, there is a lack of research on the potential adverse effects of UTAUT driving factors on user behavior. This study aims to fill this research gap by investigating the negative behavioral intentions of food delivery application (FDA) users based on a questionnaire administered in China (n = 428). Using structural-equation-modeling analysis, this study confirms the direct or indirect effects of various UTAUT driving factors, including "performance expectancy", "effort expectancy", "social influence", "facilitating conditions", "price value", "hedonic motivation", and "habit", on FDA users' food addiction and waste behavioral intentions. Furthermore, it also highlights the effect of food addiction on food waste. This research reveals more comprehensive driving factors of FDA users' adverse behavioral intentions that have not been adequately explored in the existing literature, illustrating that elements commonly linked with technology adoption can profoundly strengthen the rewarding effects associated with food addiction and food waste. These findings suggest the potential value of applying UTAUT in predicting users' adverse behaviors, presenting new avenues for more comprehensive studies and practices in responsible user management within IT-enabled hospitality and tourism businesses.
... Workers' and consumers' behavior plays a central role in shaping sustainable and circular practices and guaranteeing business' and infrastructures' long-term success (Parajuly et al., 2020) and the analysis of individuals' awareness on such topics reveals a key to sustainability and circularity (Shevchenko et al., 2023). Recent studies (Giordano et al., 2018;Olya et al., 2019) outline the need to investigate three main variables, namely (1) awareness, (2) attitude and (3) behavior. In this light, RQ1 concerns the hotel managers' awareness, including "the ability to see, hear or become aware of something through the senses" (Oxford Languages, 2021). ...
Purpose - The hotel industry is one of the leading producers of waste worldwide, and more than one-third of that waste is food. The purpose of this study is to investigate hotel managers' awareness of sustainable and circular practices, with a focus on their attitude toward and perception of food waste in Apulia, Southern Italy. The region has a tourist vocation, accounts for 3.3 million tourists per year and plays a key role in the Italian tourism.
Design/methodology/approach - The study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to ten hotel managers located in Apulia. In light of the Checkup Tool Speditivo, a sustainability score indicates managers' awareness of and attitude toward sustainability and circularity, distinguishing between "beginner" (0-25 points), "concerned" (26-50 points), "proactivist" (51-75 points) and "sustainable" (76-100 points). The results have been analyzed using descriptive statistic tools.
Findings - The average sustainability score indicating the level of awareness of sustainable and circular practices among hotel managers in Apulia was 84, whereas the average score associated with their attitude toward food waste management strategies was 65. The greater the number of stars, the higher the sustainability scores. However, the greater the number of rooms, the lower the attitude toward food waste management strategies.
Originality/value - The study sheds light on the main opportunities, barriers and trends in the field of food waste management, highlighting the food commodities which are wasted the most and proposing further strategies to improve circularity and sustainability in hotels. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first on such topics in Southern Italy and could represent the basis for future research on the topic.
... Research on food waste has thus far utilized a wide spectrum of methodologies with the aim to understand the relationship between retail price promotions and food waste, e.g., online surveys (e.g., Aschemann-Witzel et al., 2017b;Ponis et al., 2017), interviews (e.g., Farr-Wharton et al., 2014;Graham-Rowe et al., 2014), ethnographic observations (e.g., Porpino et al., 2015), and kitchen diaries (e.g., Koivupuro et al., 2012;Williams et al., 2012). This methodological diverseness has provided varying conclusions regarding the relationship between retail price promotions and food waste: A number of studies conclude that price promotions increase food waste (e.g., Farr-Wharton et al., 2014;Mondejar-Jimenez et al., 2016;Setti et al., 2016), some conclude the opposite (e.g., Parizeau et al., 2015;Silvennoinen et al., 2014), while others are inconclusive (Giordano et al., 2019;Qi & Roe, 2016). Despite these ambiguous scientific results, the criticism that pricing, particularly BOGOF offers, trigger food waste is often treated as a fact by campaigners or in stakeholder reports -as early as in the influential book by campaigner Tristram Stuart (2009), and as recent as in a report by the Boston Consulting Group nearly a decade later (Hegnsholt et al., 2018). ...
... According to Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP, 2013) the majority (around 60%) of the household food waste is defined 'avoidable', i.e. edible food and drink that could have been consumed but become waste for various reasons (European Commission, 2018). Therefore, focusing on waste prevention at the household level may be a highly effective strategy for reducing food waste and promoting the establishment of sustainable food systems Giordano, Alboni, Cicatiello, & Falasconi, 2019). ...
... These factors affecting consumer behavior are defined as 'drivers' of consumer food waste at the household level (Vittuari et al., 2023). Among the factors influencing household food waste, frequency of grocery shopping, dining-out behavior, storage strategy (e.g., unseen stored food), extra cooking, skills in using leftover food, grocery expenditure, cultural identity, and household composition are some of the most significant influencers (Ananda, Karunasena, Mitsis, Kansal, & Pearson, 2021;Giordano et al., 2019). Additionally, the interpretation of date labels plays a main role in determining domestic food waste generation (WRAP, 2011). ...
... Additionally, the interpretation of date labels plays a main role in determining domestic food waste generation (WRAP, 2011). The most commonly cited reasons for discarding food by consumers include "spoiled food", "not used in time", "bought too much", "cooked, prepared, and served too much", along with other reasons related to personal preferences and accidents Giordano et al., 2019;WRAP, 2013). These reasons for disposal may vary depending on the category of food being considered (WRAP, 2013). ...
Household food waste contributes significantly to global food waste throughout the food supply chain, resulting in a substantial waste of resources. The inability of consumers to utilize food before it spoils generally leads to its disposal, thus representing one of the causes of food waste. The secondary shelf life (SSL) is the period a product should be consumed within once open, specified in the label, which sometimes is extremely short and may lead to a significant amount of discarded food. This study focuses on evaluating the SSL of Bolognese sauce through domestic use simulation and monitoring its microbiological and sensory quality, to explore the potential extension of the SSL, allowing consumers more time to consume the product. Results show that, even under harsh usage conditions, Bolognese sauce can have a SSL longer than 13 days, 2-3 times longer than the current SSL. The results highlight the influence of consumer behavior in determining the SSL, suggesting that improved food management could further reduce household food waste.
... The purchase frequency was the variable that influenced the amount of food wasted. However, the existence or lack of a ready-to-eat shopping list determined the food wasted (Giordano et al., 2019). ...
... A study reports that the main drivers of food waste are associated with consumers' shopping routines, the reuse of leftovers, and the food purchase program (Stancu et al., 2016). By consensus, it has been argued that oversized food portions have an unfavorable impact on consumer food consumption because, in most cases, it leads to many leftovers on the plate (Giordano et al., 2019). There are typical characteristics such as the personal dimension associated with socio-demographic factors, the level of food waste knowledge and personal beliefs in each household that impact on food consumption (Schanes et al., 2018), and the influence linked to social norms and the overall cultural context of the consumer (Roodhuyzen et al., 2017). ...
... The amount of purchased food is also closely related to the purchase frequency and influence the volume of food waste in households (Jörissen et al., 2015;Roodhuyzen et al., 2017). If the amount of food needed is poorly estimated, the frequency of purchases may increase disproportionately (Giordano et al., 2019). In the context of shopping, many authors cite discounts (or low food prices) as one of the main reasons for buying more food that can the household consume and is then wasted (Jörissen et al., 2015;Koivupuro et al., 2012;Van Geffen et al., 2020). ...
... From the data analysed regarding the frequency of purchases (H4), we cannot conclusively confirm that a higher frequency of purchases results in increased food waste, as suggested by Giordano et al. (2019). They propose that when the amount of required food is poorly planned, the frequency of purchases may disproportionately rise. ...
... However, the hypothesis that the price fundamentally affects the rate of food waste cannot be confirmed. The impact of using a reduced price when shopping is also refuted by Giordano et al. (2019). Moreover, consumers with a lower income are often price-oriented customers and that they also have a lower rate of food waste . ...
The EU, where nearly 57 million tonnes of food waste are generated annually, has set a target to halve this amount by 2030. However, the amount of food waste produced varies greatly between EU countries. While several EU countries are far from reaching this target, the Czech Republic already meets it. Despite this, little to no attention is paid to Czech consumers' food waste behaviour. This study responds to the unfulfilled need by drawing attention to food waste and its reduction, and possibly even serving as a model example for the EU target. We identify key factors influencing food waste by conducting a survey with 1,551 respondents on stated preferences. The results using the PLS-SEM approach show that the price of food does not have as great an impact on the level of food waste as its characteristics or planning, which is part of consumers' purchasing behaviour. Furthermore, consumers' attitudes and awareness of food waste reduce food losses. The causes of food waste remain decidedly similar before and during the pandemic COVID-19, except that people paid more attention to food attributes during the pandemic. Product attributes are an essential part of decision-making, especially for women and people with higher levels of education. We conclude that it is desirable to sufficiently educate and teach consumers to properly plan their consumption and better estimate the amount of food needed when shopping, which should be a conscious decision rather than an impulsive one.
... First, the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in changes in food shopping habits. For example, consumers tend to reduce shopping frequency to avoid being infected can increase FW (Giordano et al., 2019). In addition, purchasing food in bulk or panic buying to reduce future risks of food shortage during the pandemic period is one of the drivers of FW (Filho et al., 2021). ...
This study connects food waste (FW) with online food delivery (OFD) service and aims to explore the impacts of the usage of OFD service on FW generation in China during the COVID‐19 lockdown period. Through responses from 123 consumers of OFD service in China, results show that the usage of OFD service did not accelerate FW generation in China during the COVID‐19 lockdown period. We found that consumers tended to order excessive food when using OFD services for some economic reasons before the pandemic, which was a significant driver behind FW generation in the OFD segment. However, most consumers admitted that they tended to stockpile food at the beginning of the lockdown period. Because of the impacts of COVID‐19 on consumer appetite and portion size, there was an overall decrease in FW generation during the COVID‐19 lockdown period in China. Therefore, it is suggested that restaurants provide adjusted portions of ordered food based on the scientific investigation or provide more pre‐packaged food for a long shelf‐life. Consequently, these measures will lead to less FW generation in the OFD service segment in China.
