Estimation of the Scale of Food Waste in Hotel Food Services—A Case Study

Marzena Tomaszewska, Beata Bilska, Agnieszka Tul-Krzyszczuk and Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska
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Marzena Tomaszewska: Department of Food Gastronomy and Food Hygiene, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Beata Bilska: Department of Food Gastronomy and Food Hygiene, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Agnieszka Tul-Krzyszczuk: Department of Food Market and Consumer Research, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska: Department of Food Gastronomy and Food Hygiene, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 02-776 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: The problem of food waste in food services, which is global and essentially affects the entire world, is a major challenge for the hospitality industry. At the same time, it should be noted that this problem has not been sufficiently studied, which makes it difficult to reduce it effectively. The study was carried out in four hotels in late 2019 and early 2020. In order to determine the scale of food waste, the diary method was used, which consists of systematically recording, for seven days, in forms prepared for workstations, the weight of all food products and unused food, including the stage of the technological process. In the hotels under study, most food was wasted in the serving department, i.e., in the buffet in the dining room or in the form of plate waste (on average 72.55% of wasted food). After taking into account the number of hotel guests served, it was found that in the investigated facilities, an average of 0.046 kg was wasted from each serving offered to guests in the form of plate waste, which constituted 5.8% of its weight. In sum, it should be stated that in order to reduce food waste, it is necessary to educate both food services staff and consumers. Employees should be trained in the proper handling of food. Consumer education, on the other hand, should be directed toward raising awareness of the negative impact of food waste, such as that on the natural environment. In addition, it should indicate what action everyone can take to limit this negative phenomenon, whether at home, in the workplace, or in a food service establishment.

Keywords: food waste; food service; hospitality; storage area; production area; leftovers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:1:p:421-:d:474920

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