Food waste has a serious negative impact on social welfare, economic productivity, and environmental sustainability. In order to create a successful plan for waste management and reduction, this study gives a thorough examination of the available literature on food waste in the food service sector. The study examines the underlying factors, scope, and effects of food waste in food service facilities. Findings from a variety of sources, such as academic journals, reports, case studies, and business publications, are synthesized in the literature review. It draws attention to the complexity of the problem of food waste, which includes a number of elements like excessive production, careless handling, consumer behaviour, and supply chain inefficiencies. This study provides a thorough examination of food waste in the food service sector and presents a workable plan for waste reduction. This study aims to contribute to the larger movement towards a more sustainable and responsible food service sector by combining existing knowledge and offering workable solutions.
TopIntroduction
The foodservice sector contributes to global food waste, and its downstream effects. However, few studies have attempted to quantify the food waste produced in this sector. Given the increasing trend of consuming food away from the household, food waste in restaurants and cafes is likely to be an emerging issue. The extent of this problem in Food Service industry is unknown (Martin-Rios C. D., 2022).
According to the FAO (2014), food waste is the use of food intended for human consumption for non-human consumption, the feeding of animals with food that was intended for human consumption, or the discarding of edible food. It consists of both edible and inedible food components that are removed from the food supply chain and that can be handled through disposal or recovery (Stangherlin, 2019). Additionally, there are three categories into which food waste can be divided:
Food that was once edible but has now become inedible is an example of preventable waste. Unavoidable waste, on the other hand, refers to specific materials like eggshells that are not edible (Liu, 2014).
The term “potentially avoidable food waste” (Papargyropoulou, 2016) refers to certain wastes that are occasionally but not always consumed. Additionally, academics contend that these three major categories of food waste may vary depending on the cultural setting.
The FAO estimates that the food that is wasted and lost annually could feed 1.26 billion hungry people. Additionally, food loss and waste (FLW) contribute to an unstable climate and catastrophic weather events like droughts and flooding by emitting 8 to 10 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
Eliminating food waste has enormous worldwide impact the food sector has on the environment and society, managing sustainability in the food supply chain is essential. Because of demand from stakeholders, actors in the food business have also gotten more interested in these concerns. This emphasizes how important it is to know what sustainable strategies and best practices are being used. The present state of knowledge regarding how food manufacturing companies integrate sustainability into their operations and supply chains is outlined in this review (Adams, 2021).
(Al-Obadi, 2022) Educate readers about the value of being conscientious shoppers. In order to achieve this, author must discuss the issues of food waste and excess inventory while offering substitutes and new ways to consume. In order to do this, it is vital to work together and create synergies among groups representing a variety of interests, including producers, activists, and consumers, and sustainable agro-food models (Yontar, 2023). Digital platforms are therefore crucial weapons in the fight against food waste since they keep some goods from being deemed unfit for human consumption. The authors of this study propose that, in light of the literature review and the examination of apps and blogs, they search for solutions to surplus and food waste in the contexts of both consumers and entrepreneurs.
Ali (2019) discussed an integrated grey-DEMATEL technique is created in this work to ascertain the causal relationship between the hazards that have been discovered. The case for FSC risk management and the creation of risk mitigation techniques to lower food waste are greatly aided by this research. The results showed how the risks for an FSC were arranged and related to one another. According to the results, five hazards were identified as cause risks and five as impact risks.