Food waste in school canteens: A reference methodology for large-scale studies

Boschini, Matteo; Falasconi, Luca; Giordano, Claudia; Alboni, Fabrizio

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.040

Cited by 60 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The reason for those low values may that Betz quantified mass of delivered food, and not mass of served food as in the present study. However, the waste levels at the organizations contributing to this study are slightly lower than the 27% and 27.5% reported by Martins [25] and Boschini [26] according to the strictest criterion in this study. However, the variations in the results we observed when comparing criteria levels for "Waste (%) of served food" and when comparing the different segments indicate that the results from all previous studies can be regarded as falling within the "normal" range.…”

Section: Food Waste Within the Different Segments Of The Hospitality contrasting

confidence: 75%

“…Past food-waste studies seldom include all waste processes within a kitchen establishment. The most commonly included processes are "Plate waste", "Serving waste", and "Preparation waste" [26,39]. Figure 1 sets the different definitions in Table 2 in context and indicates where the different waste processes usually occur.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To compare KPIs, it is necessary to determine the measurement precision of the indicator over time. Since it is relatively easy to quantify waste and the number of portions compared with quantifying the amount of served food [26,39], the question is how many quantification days are needed to ensure a certain level of precision for "Waste per portion". The first step in this was to determine the distribution of the data for the strictest criterion.…”

Section: Precision Of the Key Performance Indicator "Waste Per Portion"mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria

et al. 2019

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There is an urgent need for primary data collection on food waste to obtain solid quantification data that can be used as an indicator in the goal of halving food waste by 2030. This study examined how quality baselines for food waste can be achieved within the different segments of the hospitality sector, encompassing establishments such as canteens, elderly care units, hospitals, hotels, preschools, primary schools, restaurants, and upper secondary schools. The empirical material comprised food-waste quantification data measured in 1189 kitchens in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Germany for 58,812 quantification days and 23 million portions. All the data were converted to a common format for analysis. According to the findings, around 20% of food served became waste. Waste per portion varied widely between establishments, ranging from 50.1 ± 9.4 g/portion for canteens to 192 ± 30 g/portion for restaurants. To identify the measurement precision needed for tracking changes over time, we suggest statistical measures that could be used in future studies or in different food-waste tracking initiatives.

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Section: Food Waste Within the Different Segments Of The Hospitality contrasting

confidence: 75%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Precision Of the Key Performance Indicator "Waste Per Portion"mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria

et al. 2019

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“…The application of the framework is presented through a fictious example, inspired by the existing literature on school canteens (Cerutti et al 2016;Boschini et al 2018;Garcia-Herrero et al 2019) and representing a realistic situation. It is assumed that a generic school canteen catering company aims at evaluating the environmental and economic consequences of an intervention aiming at the prevention of serving and plate waste during school lunch.…”

Section: Framework Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A combined framework for the life cycle assessment and costing of food waste prevention and valorization: an application to school canteens

et al. 2020

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About one third of global edible food is lost or wasted along the supply chain, causing the wastage of embedded natural and economic resources. Life cycle methodologies can be applied to identify sustainable and viable prevention and valorization routes needed to prevent such inefficiencies. However, no systemic approach has been developed so far to guide practitioners and stakeholders. Specifically, the goal and scoping phase (e.g. problem assessed or system function) can be characterized by a large flexibility, and the comparability between food waste scenarios could be not ensured. Within the Horizon2020 project Resource Efficient Food and dRink for the Entire Supply cHain, this study aimed to provide practitioners with guidance on how to combine life cycle assessment and environmental life cycle costing in the context of food waste. Recent literature was reviewed to identify relevant methodological aspects, possible commonly adopted approaches, main differences among studies and standards and protocols, main challenges, and knowledge gaps. Basing on this review, an analytical framework with a set of recommendations was developed encompassing different assessment situations. The framework intends to provide a step by step guidance for food waste practitioners, and it is composed of a preliminary section on study purpose definition, three decision trees-respectively on assessment situation(s), costing approach, and type of study (footprint vs. intervention)-and two sets of recommendations. Recommendations can be applied to all levels of the food waste hierarchy, stating a generic order of preference for handling food chain side flows. This consistent and integrated life cycle approach should ensure a better understanding of the impact of specific interventions, thus supporting informed private and public decision making and promoting the design of sustainable and cost-efficient interventions and a more efficient food supply chains.

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“…Meanwhile, nonserved food and plate waste comprised 221 kg (20%) and 430 kg (39%) respectively. In a similar study on food waste in Italian schools, it was concluded that nonserved food and plate waste accounted for respectively 19.2% and 22.0% of prepared food (Boschini et al, 2018). Non-served food and plate waste is waste, that is preventable and prevention is important for school catering.…”

Section: Figure 2 Total Amount Of Wastementioning

confidence: 99%

Study of food waste at schools in Vidzeme region

Riekstiņa-Dolģe¹,

Beitāne²,

Īriste³

et al. 2019

Foodbalt

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The amount of food waste at schools is a topical issue because it shows the effectiveness of school catering system, dietary quality, pupils' attitudes and satisfaction with the offered food. The objective of this study was to determine the types of food waste, their amounts at schools in Vidzeme region and to analyse the pupils' attitude towards school meals. The study was carried out at five schools in Vidzeme region, making one-week waste food weighing. The survey method was used to determine pupils' satisfaction with school meals. Three kinds of food waste can be distinguished in school canteens, depending on where they are generated: food waste in preparation process, in distribution process and food waste from the left food portion, which accounted for 41%, 20% and 39% respectively. The amount of food waste in preparation process, which is influenced by seasonality, quality of food products, staff experience and working conditions, can be reduced by rational organization of the production process. The amount of food waste from the left food portion was influenced by the individual wishes of the pupils, family eating habits, the quality of food, the atmosphere in the school canteen, the way of serving lunch and the participation of teachers. Whereas a large amount of waste is due to the fact that children prefer novel foods rather than traditional ones, the possible solutions could be: adapting meals to pupils' habits, changing the way of serving, motivating and educating pupils and their parents.

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Food waste in school canteens: A reference methodology for large-scale studies

Cited by 60 publications

References 16 publications

Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria

Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria

A combined framework for the life cycle assessment and costing of food waste prevention and valorization: an application to school canteens

Study of food waste at schools in Vidzeme region

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