Selected Factors Determining the Disposal of Stale Bread by Polish Consumers

Beata Bilska, Marzena Tomaszewska () and Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska
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Beata Bilska: Department of Food Gastronomy and Food Hygiene, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159C St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Marzena Tomaszewska: Department of Food Gastronomy and Food Hygiene, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159C St., 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, Nowoursynowska 159C St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: Bread is one of the most popular products consumed almost daily and, simultaneously, the most frequently wasted product in large quantities. The factors determining this phenomenon in a household must first be known in order to develop and implement effective programmes to combat consumers throwing away bread. Minimizing bread waste contributes to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12 of “halting food waste by 2030”. The aim of the study was to examine the influence of selected sociodemographic, economic and behavioural characteristics of consumers on the methods of managing stale bread. The study was conducted on a nationwide, random, and representative group of 1115 adult respondents. Over 15% of respondents admitted throwing stale bread into the waste container. Statistical analysis showed that the highest percentage of younger people, residents of large cities, and working people declared throwing unused bread into the waste container. More than 1/3 of respondents declared that they process stale bread into breadcrumbs. A higher percentage of the oldest people, residents of rural areas, and families with more than four adults declared that they manage bread this way. There was no significant relationship between the frequency of bread purchase and all methods of managing stale bread (except for feeding animals). The place of purchase influenced four methods of handling stale bread.

Keywords: bread waste; bread waste utilization; disposal paths; sustainable development; consumers; driving factors (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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