Study Analyses Consumer Decisions Involving Food Waste

A research report on consumer food waste drivers.  Food waste is often portrayed as an issue which can easily be corrected, but from the consumer's perspective, what decisions go into throwing out food?  "Some food waste analyses seem to treat household food waste as a “mistake” or careless decision; however, consumer decisions to waste also likely reflect trade-offs and economic incentives."  This study finds that "food waste is a function of consumers’ demographic characteristics, and that decisions to discard food vary with contextual factors."

In the report, some interesting points are made.

"In the case of meal leftovers, respondents were generally less likely to waste the leftovers when the meal cost was high, when there were leftovers for a whole meal, when there were no future meal plans, and when the meal was prepared at home."

"With milk, the decision to waste was heavily impacted by food safety considerations as reflected in the smell of the product. Not surprisingly, milk that smelled slightly sour was more likely to be thrown out than milk that smelled fine—signaling individuals’ aversion to consuming a product they believe could make them or their family members ill (Graham-Rowe, Jessop, and Sparks 2014; Neff, Spiker, and Truant 2015). However, a subset of consumers opted to throw out the milk even when it smelled fine. This may be due to the expiration date information given in the vignette. In all scenarios, the milk was one day past its expiration, which may have caused some consumers to throw it out regardless of sensory properties."

"[We] found that younger individuals (18–44 years) were more likely to waste food than older consumers. Interestingly, this group was more likely to waste in contexts where a decision to waste was less intuitive—when the meal was higher-priced and when the milk smelled fine."

 "[We] find that consumer segments respond differently to different decision attributes. As educational campaigns are identified as a critical solution in reducing food waste (Rethink Food Waste through Economics and Data 2016), understanding the heterogeneity in waste behaviors can enable policymakers or other advocacy groups to better target educational efforts to the households most susceptible for high levels of food waste."

One prominent factor is risk aversion regarding food safety.  Rightfully so.  People should not be made to feel they use food that is at a point where they feel the food is spoiled.  Much focus has gone into what manufacturers do to extend the life of the product, rather then teaching people to be more thoughtful in using products before they get to the point where a decision has to be made.

PhysOrg
https://phys.org/news/2018-03-food-safe-decision.html#jC
Wasting food may be safe, reasonable decision for some, study says
March 15, 2018 by Brian Wallheimer, Purdue University

Fighting Food Waste

A recent study summarized in IFT Weekly discusses the fact that consumers do not understand the need to control food waste.  From the report, only about half of the people surveyed were aware of the issue.  While many feel guilty about throwing away food, many do not understand the impact on the environment or on their wallet.  Interestingly 42% of people said that they do not have the time to worry about it.

I think about the national campaign conducted years ago when people threw garbage wherever, including on the highways.  You might remember it as the Keep America Beautiful Campaign.


While some people are still less than clean, there has been a marked improvement in the amounts of trash dumped on the streets and highways.
To get public awareness, like this topic or the topic of smoking, there was a major media push.  I would expect the same for this. 

But reducing food waste goes against excess purchasing of food...a positive economic benefit for those who sell food.  So who is going to support this type of initiative?

Food Loss and Waste Standard Published

Food waste is continuing to become a bigger issue.  A group of 'leading' international organizations have written a standard for measuring food loss and waste.  As major retailers push for food loss and waste reductions, these standards can be used to measure that.

In the IFT release:

"In 2015, The Consumer Goods Forum, which represents more than 400 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers from 70 countries, adopted a resolution for its members to reduce food waste from their operations by 50% by 2025, with baselines and progress to be measured using the FLW Standard."

IFT Weekly
http://www.ift.org/food-technology/newsletters/ift-weekly-newsletter/2016/june/060816.aspx
June 8, 2016
Organizations partner to introduce food loss, waste global standard

Food Waste and Sustainability - Reducing Waste with Food Safety in Mind

 A UK group called WRAP ( Waste & Resources Action Programme ) issued a report on food waste and the impact on the economy as well as on the environment.  According to the report, the cost of wasted food in the US is about $162 billion.  This waste is generated throughout  the food chain, from the field to the kitchen table, and in a time when many go hungry, there is a need to put waste reduction controls in place. 

The NY Times published a series of articles on waste reduction controls for the consumers and restaurants.  One is providing tips for utilizing food that would otherwise be wasted and another on being more efficient in the kitchen (articles below). 

For food processors and retailers, there is the Food Waste Reduction Alliance.   A nice publication on their website is a Best Practices Guide.  This includes information on food donations.

There will be an increasing emphasis on reducing food waste, especially as there are many people who do not get enough food

Regardless of where those controls are instituted, one important factor that must be part of any food reduction control activity is food safety.  As we try to store food longer, or utilize foods or parts of food previously thought of as unusable, food safety can be an issue.

One concern is collecting raw food / kitchen waste for composting.  Often times, raw foods will have pathogens like Salmonella and Campylobacter associated with them, chicken skin for example.  Cooked foods can also be a concern.  Cooks foods, with no or very little bacterial flora, can serve as a growth media for spore-forming pathogens that survived the cooking (such as Clostridium perfringens or Clostridium botulinum) or for environmental pathogens such as Listeria or Staphylococcus.  There are however, spoilage bacteria that may work to prevent this.  A study of kitchen waste has shown that common spoilage bacteria, primarily lactic acid bacteria, are often in our collection points and prohibit or eliminate any food safety issues.  This is not to say that kitchen waste shouldn't be handled and stored properly.

A more important control though is proper composting.  Proper composting will eliminate pathogens, so it is important to do this prior to using compost in a garden.

Molds are one hazard to consider when utilizing food or food waste.  As food is handled and/or store for a long time, or when it is handled and restored, mold can be introduced, and then grow during storage. A number of mold species can produce mycotoxins and these mycotoxins are dangerous in that they can cause a wide broad range of health issues including being carcinogenic, mutagenic, and having harmful to organs such as the liver.  It is also important to note that mycotoxins are heat resistant, and will not be eliminated by cooking.

People will often try to salvage food with mold on it.  In general, once a food becomes moldy, it should be discarded.  This includes fruits and vegetables.  If within a lot of fruits of vegetables, items are showing mold, the effected product should be sorted out immediately.  It is also important to note that mold spores may have deposited on the good product from the mold growing nearby, and that good food may show signs of mold spoilage in a matter of days.  Therefore, you want to use that salvaged product sooner rather than later.

An issue with long term storage of refrigerated foods is Listeria.  Unlike many of the other bacterial pathogens, Listeria can grow at refrigeration temperatures.   This is a especially a concern for soft chesses and deli meats.  These are two items that should not be used once the product has reached the end of its stated shelf-life.  It is also important to keep you refrigerator clean.

Manufacturer-established shelf-life dates have come under fire as a big cause for much of the food waste that is seen.  True, many of these dates are based upon quality, or best quality, and have little or no relation to safety, with the exception of deli meats or dairy products such as soft cheeses.   My input to this is that rather to argue about whether product should be thrown out by the end of that date, is to put the emphasis on using the product before it gets to that point.  Perhaps it would be better to focus  on the consumer better utilizing food.  Better utilization would entail better determining the amount of food that can be used within a given amount of time, such as a week or the time between shopping trips.  This way, perishables will be used before they go bad.  Better utilization also includes rotating food on the shelf, so that we don't end up finding that expired product in the back of the shelf.  Face it, who hasn't had to throw out a box of Fruit Loops that got pushed behind everything else on that shelf.  Being more deliberate in your choices at the store.  If like me, you buy 5 cans of a new product only to find out as you eat the first can.....it's not very good.  Then the rest sit...forever.   Or there is a sale on Sriracha flavored beans - buy five get two free, and of course you get 7 cans only to tire on them after the first three.  Lastly, preparing too much.  Who finishes that 2lb can of pork'n beans?


NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/us/food-waste-is-becoming-serious-economic-and-environmental-issue-report-says.html?_r=0
Food Waste Is Becoming Serious Economic and Environmental Issue, Report Says

By RON NIXONFEB. 25, 2015

WASHINGTON — With millions of households across the country struggling to have enough to eat, and millions of tons of food being tossed in the garbage, food waste is increasingly being seen as a serious environmental and economic issue.
A report released Wednesday shows that about 60 million metric tons of food is wasted a year in the United States, with an estimated value of $162 billion. About 32 million metric tons of it end up in municipal landfills, at a cost of about $1.5 billion a year to local governments.

The problem is not limited to the United States.

The report estimates that a third of all the food produced in the world is never consumed, and the total cost of that food waste could be as high as $400 billion a year. Reducing food waste from 20 to 50 percent globally could save $120 billion to $300 billion a year by 2030, the report found.

USDA and EPA Launch U.S. Food Waste Challenge

USDA in conjunction with EPA is launching a new initiative to reduce food waste. They estimate that food waste is roughly 30 to 40 percent of the US Food Supply. Wasted food happens at every part of the food chain, including retail, foodservice, and the consumer. According to the release – “USDA will also work with industry to increase donations from imported produce that does not meet quality standards, streamline procedures for donating wholesome misbranded meat and poultry products, update U.S. food loss estimates at the retail level, and pilot-test a meat-composting program to reduce the amount of meat being sent to landfills from food safety inspection labs.”

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2013/06/0112.xml&contentidonly=true