Purpose/aim Given the growth of the catering sector and the change in consumers’ habits, new sources and determinants of food waste along food supply chains have to be identified and properly managed. This study explores the determinants of food waste in the food service and catering sectors by illustrating a case study from the campus’ canteen at Nottingham University. This paper aims at identifying the reasons why students waste food and its knock on impact on from the economic, environmental, and social point of view. The paper purports to suggest practice-ready impact mitigation strategies. Design/methodology The conducted study entails a two-step approach. First, an on-field monitoring campaign has been carried out to observe and track the main waste sources resulting from the students’ consumption at the campus canteen. The part of the study considered the characteristics of layout and the processes deployed by the canteen management. Dealing with the layout, the food shelves and the consumers flows over the layout have been considered. The observation of the cooking phases and students’ purchasing behaviour within a menu of 300 recipes dealt with the processes monitoring. The second step entailed an on-line questionnaire to better understand details about students’ food purchasing and consumption habits, and their general awareness about the implications of food waste. Altogether 187 students completed the online survey. The quantitative parameters resulting by both steps have been combined and analysed to deduce general observations and guidelines and suggest practice-ready strategies for waste reduction. Findings The obtained results show that up to 74% of the total food waste is generated by consumers i.e. students. On-field observation confirms that students indeed take more food than they really consume. A correlation between such behaviour and the layout of the shelves seems to exist. The questionnaire also underlines a profound lack of awareness (up to 72% of respondents) about the potential economic and social impact of food waste. Value The collected empirical evidence offers an explorative analysis of the determinants of food waste from students’ canteens. This study provides a valuable contribution by highlighting the scale of food waste in the catering sector and the central role of consumers play in waste prevention strategies. Among the suggested mitigation strategies, the establishment of incentives to avoid unacceptable consumer behaviours and re-design of canteen’s layout and processes can result in waste-preventing strategies. Further developments might investigate other reasons for waste generation at students’ canteens (e.g. over-production, over-cooking, spoilage), and extend the analysis to other campuses and countries.

Determinants and mitigation strategies for food waste: A case study from a University's student canteen

Accorsi, Riccardo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
Ferrari, Emilio
Supervision
;
Manzini, Riccardo
Supervision
2018

Abstract

Purpose/aim Given the growth of the catering sector and the change in consumers’ habits, new sources and determinants of food waste along food supply chains have to be identified and properly managed. This study explores the determinants of food waste in the food service and catering sectors by illustrating a case study from the campus’ canteen at Nottingham University. This paper aims at identifying the reasons why students waste food and its knock on impact on from the economic, environmental, and social point of view. The paper purports to suggest practice-ready impact mitigation strategies. Design/methodology The conducted study entails a two-step approach. First, an on-field monitoring campaign has been carried out to observe and track the main waste sources resulting from the students’ consumption at the campus canteen. The part of the study considered the characteristics of layout and the processes deployed by the canteen management. Dealing with the layout, the food shelves and the consumers flows over the layout have been considered. The observation of the cooking phases and students’ purchasing behaviour within a menu of 300 recipes dealt with the processes monitoring. The second step entailed an on-line questionnaire to better understand details about students’ food purchasing and consumption habits, and their general awareness about the implications of food waste. Altogether 187 students completed the online survey. The quantitative parameters resulting by both steps have been combined and analysed to deduce general observations and guidelines and suggest practice-ready strategies for waste reduction. Findings The obtained results show that up to 74% of the total food waste is generated by consumers i.e. students. On-field observation confirms that students indeed take more food than they really consume. A correlation between such behaviour and the layout of the shelves seems to exist. The questionnaire also underlines a profound lack of awareness (up to 72% of respondents) about the potential economic and social impact of food waste. Value The collected empirical evidence offers an explorative analysis of the determinants of food waste from students’ canteens. This study provides a valuable contribution by highlighting the scale of food waste in the catering sector and the central role of consumers play in waste prevention strategies. Among the suggested mitigation strategies, the establishment of incentives to avoid unacceptable consumer behaviours and re-design of canteen’s layout and processes can result in waste-preventing strategies. Further developments might investigate other reasons for waste generation at students’ canteens (e.g. over-production, over-cooking, spoilage), and extend the analysis to other campuses and countries.
2018
Big Data Enabled Supply Chain Innovations
478
486
Faldella, Elisa; Pawar, Kulwant; Accorsi, Riccardo; Ferrari, Emilio; Manzini, Riccardo
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/641100
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