Food Waste and Qualitative Evaluation of Menus in Public University Canteens—Challenges and Opportunities

Aires, Cristina; Saraiva, Cristina; Fontes, Maria da Conceição; Moreira, Daniel de Carvalho; Moura‐Alves, Márcio; Gonçalves, Carla

doi:10.3390/foods10102325

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The control canteen showed mean percentages of total waste throughout the study ranging from 7.5% to 11.9%. Similar food waste percentages were obtained in a study carried out by Aires C. et al in a Portuguese university canteen [ 51 ]. On the other hand, the results of the baseline evaluation in the intervention canteen showed much lower levels of food waste, matching the optimal levels (under 5%) throughout the complete study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Pilot Study to Reduce Added Salt on a University Canteen through the Use of an Innovative Dosage Equipment

Faria

Padrão

Pinho

et al. 2022

Foods

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Background: This study aims to demonstrate the practical application of an innovative easy-to-use equipment to dosage cooking salt, and evaluate the effectiveness in reducing 30% of the added salt in meals and the impact on consumer’s satisfaction and food waste. Methods: Two canteens from one public university where randomized in one control arm and one intervention arm. The first step was to evaluate the salt added to food through atomic emission spectrophotometry in both canteens, and the second step was to perform gradual reductions of up to 30% of cooking salt in the intervention canteen using the Salt Control-C (SC-C) equipment. Consumer acceptability was assessed through satisfaction questionnaires and food waste was evaluated by weighing. Results: The intervention canteen achieved to a reduction of more than 30% of added salt in soup (−34.3% per 100 g), fish dish (−41.1% per 100 g) and meat dish (−48.0% per 100 g), except for the vegetarian dish (6.1% per 100 g). There was no decrease in consumer satisfaction, with a significant satisfaction increase of 15.7% (p = 0.044) regarding the flavor of the main dish. Also, no significant differences were found in food waste. Conclusions: SC-C seems to be effective in reducing 30% of added salt levels in canteen meals, and may be a good strategy to control and reach adequate levels of added salt in meals served outside-the-home, promoting benefits to the individual’s health.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Pilot Study to Reduce Added Salt on a University Canteen through the Use of an Innovative Dosage Equipment

Faria

Padrão

Pinho

et al. 2022

Foods

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“…This indicated the low preference of students for vegetables. A previous study in low-income schools in Texas, USA also found that younger students discarded significantly more food of all groups than older students, which accounted for greater losses in nutrients and calories ( 44 ) . In addition, the proportion of food items being discarded from school lunch meals in the present study was lower than that of the US schools.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Nutritional quality of lunch meals and plate waste in school lunch programme in Southern Thailand

2022

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Food waste globally affects food security and sustainability. There currently are few studies focusing on food waste in schools. The present study aimed to determine the meal quality and plate waste in school lunch programme in Thailand. This cross-sectional study was conducted in canteens of representing kindergarten and elementary schools in Southern Thailand within their real-life context. The assessment was carried out over five consecutive school days in July–August 2020 for each school, at which two types of menus, including rice with side dish and one-dish meal were served. Waste collection and quantification were conducted by selective aggregate weighing, according to the Food Loss and Waste Protocol. All lunch menus contained excess rice but insufficient meats, fruits, vegetables and eggs, regarding the national lunch standard. For each serving portion, 7–33 % rice, 9–22 % meats, 7–65 % vegetables, 1–19 % fruits and 3–14 % eggs were discarded. Plate waste from rice with side dish menus (10–29 %) was more than one-dish meals (7–17 %). By estimation, each kindergartener generated 71⋅4 g plate waste daily, accounting for the caloric and monetary values of 146 kcal and 0⋅16 US dollar. The amount of plate waste and the respective caloric and monetary losses were less obvious at the elementary school. Plate waste affected the adequacy of food intakes of schoolchildren from lunch meals. The data obtained from the present study will be useful for planning and implementation of school lunch programme in Thailand and countries with similar context.

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“…Since surpluses are food that is safe for human consumption, the facilitation of food donation is a priority area of work in Europe [22], and the preferred destination could be to make it available to people in need and aid institutions, as reported by some authors [23] as measures to increase the social and environmental sustainability of food services.…”

Section: Surplusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leftovers index (%) = (kg of leftovers)/(kg of food served) × 100 Waste values from leftovers could be from 7.5 to 16.8% in university canteens and can vary according to the type of meal, from vegetarian to meat dishes [23]. In the hospital context, the value of food waste from leftovers can rise to 72.6% [26].…”

Section: Leftoversmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to be more informative, most of the studies weigh leftover food waste according to their components, for example, soup, plate components (garnish, conduct, salads), bread, and desserts [23,26,34]. This measurement is important to evaluate the performance of food service and highlight points of the process that need improvement, for example, the intervention in menu design [23,35].…”

Section: Food Waste Monitoring Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food Waste in Public Food Service Sector—Surplus and Leftovers

Gonçalves,

Saraiva,

Nunes

et al. 2023

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Food waste occurs at various stages of the food supply chain, starting from the production stage on farms to processing, distribution, and consumption. It is an important global problem that has social, environmental, ethical, and economic costs. The present work aims to discuss the differences in waste generated from surpluses or leftovers, the monitoring systems of food waste in public food services, and the good practices to reduce food waste. Besides the accessible knowledge about reducing waste, tonnes of food were daily discarded and wasted. To achieve a sustainable food system, food waste must be reduced significantly. Collaborative efforts are necessary to achieve significant reductions in food waste for achieving SDG 12.3 in public food services. Thus, policies that support or enforce larger implementation of best practices are needed. Knowledge about food waste is important to change attitudes and behaviors toward surplus food and leftovers. Some best practices can include promoting awareness campaigns to educate staff about the impact of food waste and the best practices to reduce it, including information on proper storage, portion control, and meal planning; implementing inventory management systems; donating surplus food via collaboration with food banks and charities; optimizing portion sizes, ensuring they are adequate and manageable for customers, reducing the likelihood of leftover food on the plate; allowing customers to order smaller quantities or share a meal; providing packaging to allow customers take their leftovers home for later consumption. The procedures to be adopted by public food services should provide guidance for the selection of products that can be donated. However, specific temperature requirements depending on the food category should be complied with. This paper enlarges the understanding of surpluses and leftovers and the best practices that could be implemented in public food services to minimize food waste.

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Food Waste and Qualitative Evaluation of Menus in Public University Canteens—Challenges and Opportunities

Cited by 10 publications

References 30 publications

Pilot Study to Reduce Added Salt on a University Canteen through the Use of an Innovative Dosage Equipment

Pilot Study to Reduce Added Salt on a University Canteen through the Use of an Innovative Dosage Equipment

Nutritional quality of lunch meals and plate waste in school lunch programme in Southern Thailand

Food Waste in Public Food Service Sector—Surplus and Leftovers

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