Investigating Students’ Food Packaging-Related Challenges and Preferences in Europe and Asia

Victoria Norton, Omobolanle O. Oloyede, Niki Alexi, Audrey Menil, Guangling Ren, Nirmal Jadhav and Stella Lignou ()
Additional contact information
Victoria Norton: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK
Omobolanle O. Oloyede: Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, University of Surrey, Stag Hill, Guilford GU2 7XH, UK
Niki Alexi: Food Quality Perception and Society Science Team, iSense Lab, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark
Audrey Menil: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK
Guangling Ren: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK
Nirmal Jadhav: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK
Stella Lignou: Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: There is increasing pressure for everyone to adopt sustainable behaviours and typically this starts at-home via appropriate food-based disposal practices; however, this is associated with various barriers impacting compliance. Targeted education in college and/or the university environment could provide a viable approach to overcome such difficulties; yet, limited readily available resources exist to bring this forth. This paper explores students’ food packaging expectations and attitudes as well as information preferences in four countries (UK, France, India, and China). Students (n = 533) completed an online survey capturing food packaging purchase-based decisions, disposal-related challenges, and communication preferences. Students noted that food packaging had a dominant role in product choice. Fresh produce was considered an area for improvement, especially in the UK, India, and France, whereas snacks/baked goods were a priority in China. Disposal-related challenges were mostly associated with mixed materials. Students cited no clear information, limited choices, excessive packaging, and no nearby bins as common food packaging issues. This suggests that improving infrastructure (more bins, clearer signing) could be fundamental to encourage students to implement more sustainable food packaging behaviour. Furthermore, colleges and/or universities should consider students’ preferred information formats (infographics, videos) and develop targeted education (recyclability) which can be easily disseminated to promote engagement and sustainable food packaging knowledge and awareness.

Keywords: food packaging; sustainability; cross-country; barriers; behaviour; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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