Attitudes and Behaviours of Young Consumers towards Wasting Food: Case Study Based on Polish Students

Abstract

Civilisation changes affect the attitudes and behaviour of consumers related to food waste. Most food is wasted by households. The purpose of this study was to assess the behaviour and attitudes of Polish students related to food waste and to determine the amount and type of food waste, as well as to indicate the causes of this problem. The analysis of attitudes and behaviours of individual groups of society directs actions to be taken in order to reduce food waste. For 14 days, a questionnaire was completed by Polish students from two universities. It concerned the frequency of throwing away food products and the type and amount of wasted products, as well as the reasons for throwing food away and the ways of counteracting this situation. Descriptive statistics, a Pareto–Lorenz analysis and a cluster analysis were used to analyse the obtained data. In this study, the level of food waste by Polish students was determined, and the study group was segmented into three clusters. The three clusters defining the attitudes of Polish students were (1) “aware students”, (2) “disengaged students” and (3) “aware but disengaged”. The largest number of respondents were classified into cluster 2. Polish students are aware of the problems of food waste, but do not contribute to reducing it. In most cases, students’ behaviour was not differentiated by socio-demographic characteristics.

Evaluation of the Possibilities of Using Oat Malt in Wheat Breadmaking

“…Extending the shelf life (delaying staling) of bread seems to be important for reducing food waste. According to respondents, the most frequently thrown-away products included fruit and vegetables, followed by bread [13,14]. Reducing the problem of food waste should lead to decisive actions aimed at educating consumers according to the idea of "Don't waste food", because bread and bakery products account for more than 50% of total food waste [69].…”

“…Najafabadi et al [12] showed that baking and storage conditions of bread influence staling. The staling of bread is one of the reasons for throwing it away, and food waste is a common problem in many societies [13,14]. The demand for bread with good technological, sensory, and functional values, as well as extended shelf life, causes producers to look for various components, especially natural ones, to meet the growing expectations of consumers.…”

Drivers of Food Waste Reduction Intention Among Indonesian Young Generation

“…The government increases awareness about food waste through educational practices (Pinto et al, 2018) because food waste increases due to consumers' low knowledge and ability to manage food (Graham-Rowe et al, 2015;Werf et al, 2020). Meanwhile, food businesses can significantly reduce food waste by offering products with various portion options, accompanied by date labels and retail marketing (Tarczyńska et al, 2023).…”