Restaurant food waste represents a significant societal challenge in transitional economies where the frequency of dining out is rising. The problem of restaurant food waste in this context is however underresearched which hampers understanding of its causes and effects. This paper contributes to knowledge with a case study of food waste management in restaurants of Plovdiv in Bulgaria, a transitional economy in SouthEastern Europe. Through the lens of qualitative research, it establishes the causes of restaurant food waste and explores managerial approaches to mitigation. The study highlights the crucial role of targeted governmental support in more effective management of restaurant food waste. The government should train restaurateurs on how to quantify and characterise major food waste streams. It should further provide reliable services of waste collection to facilitate on-site food separation and recycling. Lastly, public awareness campaigns should be developed to better engage customers in restaurant food waste minimisation.

The present research represents a further contribution to the available literature about the analytical composition of primitive wheats, including the complete range of relevant bioactives and lesser investigated species. The data do not support an overall superiority of primitive forms, but evidenced interesting, potentially exploitable, between- and within-species variability.

This is the first study that provides validated data on the mineral content for 33 traditional foods from Black Sea area countries, which is important in order to elucidate their role in the dietary pattern of populations and to preserve and promote these foods.

The use of a common methodology for the study of traditional foods will enable countries to further investigate these foods. Moreover, a new nutritional knowledge base of traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries will contribute to promote local biodiversity and sustainable diets by maintaining healthy dietary patterns within local cultures.

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