A Framework Development of Food Wastage and Its Prevention Strategies in the Hospitality Industry of Pakistan

1. Introduction

Supply chain management (SCM) applications, challenges, and breakthroughs have captured the attention of numerous researchers in the recent years (Asamoah et al., 2021; Shen et al., 2020). Especially the concerns about supply chain and logistics in the food businesses are developing dramatically (Jose & Shanmugam, 2019). Consequently, the dire conditions over food waste have become a significant point of attention for countries around the globe (Huang et al., 2020). Therefore, research in this food processing area has gained a considerable value and it has been classified into six distinct sectors: meat processing, fish processing, dairy processing, bread and milling, and beverage processing. Globally, a billion tonnes of food are wasted each year (Nonomura, 2020, Silvennoinen et al., 2019, Soma, 2018, Srinivas & Dongre, 2018, Corrado & Sala, 2018), accounting for roughly one-third of all food produced for human consumption (Nonomura, 2020, Silvennoinen et al., 2019, Soma, 2018, Srinivas & Dongre, 2018, Corrado & Sala, 2018, Stenmarck, 2016). Food waste is generated in all developing countries, with a total worth of $310 billion (Aamir et al., 2018). Similarly, Pakistan reports over 40% of its food is wasted each year (Mughal, 2018; Imran, 2017). Food waste accounts for around 30% of the country's total solid waste, totaling 48.5 million tonnes per year (Waste Management, 2019). High-end restaurants produce the highest food waste, followed by middle-end and low-end restaurants (Aamir et al., 2018); with excessive wastage of food (Martin, 2020), it is estimated that around 690 million people don't get enough food required for human development. Approximately 381 million are suffering from malnutrition in Asia alone. For example, almost 821 million people, one in every nine people, are now hungry, causing stunted growth in over 150 million children (World Health Statistics, 2018). Additionally, roughly 60% of Pakistan's population sleeps without food at night (Imran, 2017). Pakistan ranks 88th out of 107 nations on the Global Hunger Index with a deep hunger level (Global Hunger Index - Pakistan, 2020). These severe hunger issues are attributable to food loss during the supply chain's processes, starting from manufacture until the food reaches the consumer (Mughal, 2018).