The Management of Unsold Food in Outdoor Market Areas: Food Operators’ Behaviour and Attitudes

Giovanni Peira, Luigi Bollani, Chiara Giachino and Alessandro Bonadonna
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Giovanni Peira: Department of Management, University of Turin, Corso Unione Sovietica 218 bis, 10134 Turin, Italy
Luigi Bollani: ESOMAS Department, University of Turin, Corso Unione Sovietica 218 bis, 10134 Turin, Italy
Chiara Giachino: Department of Management, University of Turin, Corso Unione Sovietica 218 bis, 10134 Turin, Italy
Alessandro Bonadonna: Department of Management, University of Turin, Corso Unione Sovietica 218 bis, 10134 Turin, Italy

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Food wastage has been widely discussed and investigated from different perspectives in literature. The EU-28 produces about 88 million tonnes of food wastage every year, making the awareness of this phenomenon a vital matter. This paper focuses on the outdoor-market operators’ perception and behaviour towards the food waste phenomenon in a particular phase of the agro-food supply chain. It assesses the different approaches used to manage unsold produce and its destination. A sample of 214 market retailers in the Greater Torino market areas of Italy were identified, to whom a questionnaire was administered by interview to analyze the main actors involved in the food-wastage process and profile them according to their perception, behaviour, and attitude. The results show that there are three distinct kinds of market operators, i.e., farmers, peddlers, and hybrids. Their attitudes and behaviour towards unsold food differ, as does their inclination towards a sustainable approach, which depends on their personal experience and role in the supply chain. Moreover, the results provide some relevant elements that may contribute to improving the management of the food-waste phenomenon. Moreover, they bring some useful evidence to light that could lay the basis of more effective tools to be put at the disposal of various institutions.

Keywords: food wastage; farmers; peddlers; hybrids; outdoor market; multiple correspondence analysis; hierarchical cluster analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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