Food waste management in hospitality operations: A critical review

Abstract

Hospitality food waste represents a significant societal challenge. It is however underresearched with most studies approaching the issue from the perspective of sustainable agriculture and environmental, rather than hospitality, management. Given the specificity of hospitality operations, this is a major shortcoming which hampers understanding of the determinants of effective mitigation. This paper provides a critical, analytical account of the literature on hospitality food waste made from the viewpoint of hospitality managers. It reviews the challenges in classifying, quantifying and characterising hospitality food waste, discusses the opportunities and obstacles to its mitigation and, drawing on good business practice examples, derives a framework for managing food waste across the different areas of hospitality operations. The framework is underpinned by such determinants of effective mitigation as: core in-house competencies; training needs; initial investment costs; and potential monetary savings. The feasibility of its broader adoption by managers across the sector is discussed.

Managing the Risk of Food Waste in Foodservice Establishments

“…Identification of the groups of food that are most often disposed of is important to reduce this undesirable practice. This is because it makes it possible to indicate which operating processes should be modified to minimize the amount of food disposed of at a given establishment [23]. For example, to reduce the risk of disposal of wilted fruits and vegetables, thought should be given to the way in which they are stored and/or to better organization of production (order planning, menus).…”

“…According to Filimonau and de Coteau [23], reducing food waste in foodservice should focus on three main stages: pre-kitchen, kitchen, and post-kitchen. At the pre-kitchen stage, it is necessary to forecast the demand and to order the ingredients and the products necessary for food preparation optimally according to the needs.…”

“…One of the possible ways to help and reduce food loss and waste is to support the activities of businesses by developing procedures that allow for rational use of food for socially useful purposes, within the framework of existing legal rules on the preservation of food health safety [46]. As Filimanou and Coteau [23] pointed out, thanks to the growing popularity of food donations from the foodservice industry, it is possible to reduce food waste in this sector, to reduce the operating costs, and to alleviate poverty, but other important points must be borne in mind. Specifically, food banks and non-profit organizations must have the necessary equipment, labor, and time to safely store and redistribute unsold hospitality food [23].…”

“…As Filimanou and Coteau [23] pointed out, thanks to the growing popularity of food donations from the foodservice industry, it is possible to reduce food waste in this sector, to reduce the operating costs, and to alleviate poverty, but other important points must be borne in mind. Specifically, food banks and non-profit organizations must have the necessary equipment, labor, and time to safely store and redistribute unsold hospitality food [23]. According to Halloran et al [47], there are several restrictions related to the donation of food for charity purposes, e.g., donated food must remain unopened and must not exceed the last selling day.…”

“…As Singh et al [49] pointed out, composting can reform the composition of food waste. When composting is not feasible, on-site anaerobic digestion of food waste can be adopted [23]. As Filimonau and de Coteau [23] noted, a number of programs have been developed across the world to mitigate food waste in the hospitality sector.…”