Behavior of Polish Consumers in Relation to Meals Ordered in Food Service Establishments in the Context of Plate Waste

Abstract

In the food service industry, food is wasted at every stage of the process. A significant part of food wastage is the so-called plate waste, i.e., food left by the consumer on the plate. The purpose of this research was to analyze the behavior of Polish consumers in relation to meals ordered in food establishments. The following issues were taken into account: leaving an unfinished meal on a plate and reasons for it, taking an unfinished meal home, and ordering half portions. The study was conducted on a representative group of 1115 adult Polish citizens using the CAPI method. Segmentation (cluster analysis) of respondents differing in their behavior in relation to ordered meals was carried out. It turned out that about 53% of Polish citizens do not use food services at all. Men with secondary and higher levels of education and other sources of income (cluster C) less frequently declared leaving unfinished meals on a plate and taking an unfinished meal home, especially in canteens, compared to other clusters. Few respondents declared buying half portions. Excessively large portions and inadequate taste of dishes were indicated by almost 50% of respondents as the main reasons for the generation of plate waste. Measures should be promoted to encourage consumers and food service providers to reduce the generation of plate waste.

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

“…The indicated reasons for throwing away were preparing too large a portion or a distasteful dish. The results of the research related to the structure of wasted food products are comparable with the results of surveys conducted by other authors in different countries, e.g., Czech Republic [63], Canada [64], Germany [65], Morocco [66], Poland [7,40,41], Hungary [67], Italy [23,65,68], Saudi Arabia [69] and multi-level analysis [70]. Regarding the research conducted in Poland on the types of discarded products, Tomaszewska et al [41] showed that the most frequently discarded products were vegetables and meat.…”

“…According to Conrad et al, the causes of food waste are increasing due to a higher quality of living [38,39], stating that single-person households or young professionals often buy more than they need. Bilska et al [40] and Tomaszewska et al [41] found that more food was wasted often by young people in Poland, both in households and in meals ordered in food establishments. The authors showed that people with a university-level education wasted food more often.…”

The Impact of the Nutritional Knowledge of Polish Students Living Outside the Family Home on Consumer Behavior and Food Waste

“…It is difficult for young people to estimate how much produce they need in their homes and how much food needs to be cooked [ 87 , 88 ]. However, leaving plate leftovers at eating establishments also contributes to food waste [ 89 ]. Lack of food and nutrition knowledge and cooking experience was also a reason [ 87 , 90 ].…”

Assessment of consumption of light, “lekki” and fit products among students of dietetics

“…Sometimes consumers are guided by fashion when choosing a product, especially in the case of products labeled "light", "lekki", "fit" or "fitness". Sometimes the choice of food by consumers is accidental because not every consumer has sufficient knowledge about food [8,9,10,11,12]. The insufficiently regulated food market and the producers' desire to achieve high profits from the sale of products cause the situation that there are products on the Polish market that do not meet the standards.…”