The creation of food waste

The relationship between food waste and food safety practices is an area of interest for the FSA. Food that is past its use-by date should be discarded as could be unsafe to eat. However, opportunities to use this food may have been missed during the period it was safe to eat – such as by planning meals, freezing foods and batch cooking. Behaviours that enable the creation of food waste were not an original focus of the Kitchen Life 2 (KL2) study or the accompanying literature review. In 2022 the FSA expanded their strategy to include a focus on food being ‘healthier and more sustainable’. This provided a new opportunity for KL2 data to be reanalysed, from a perspective of food waste (a key aspect of sustainability). For the purposes of KL2, food waste is considered as food that is not consumed and thrown away including inedible and edible peel. A food waste behaviour could occur at any time during the observed footage (such as during meal preparation or when disposing of leftovers) and would be coded as a single food waste behaviour each time this was observed. Video footage from 42 households and 27 food business operators (FBOs)(footnote 1) was recoded to explore the topic of food waste because a kitchen bin was clearly visible in the footage from these kitchens. As food waste analysis was commissioned in November 2022 (ahead of wave 5) food waste behaviours were only explicitly discussed in 20 household and 4 FBO interviews. As food waste was not explored across the whole KL2 sample, additional desk research was also conducted to supplement KL2 data. Behaviours were categorised according to when they occur, from purchasing and meal planning to leftovers. Behaviours that occur upstream of meal occasions and that can influence the creation of food waste - for example meal planning, what food is purchased and how it is stored - were predominantly explored in the desk research, though also discussed in some interviews. Behaviours which occur during meal occasions - for example, food waste created when preparing food, portion sizing, and how leftovers are used - were explored using KL2 observations, surveys and interviews, as well as desk research. The frequency, stage in the meal process and type of food waste created (where visible) was also analysed using KL2 observations. The 42 households in the KL2 food waste sample were observed to dispose of food on 1473 occasions – averaging just over 10 occasions per household per day. Two-thirds (67%) of observed food waste occasions related to preparing a meal, with post-meal food waste accounting for around a fifth (18%). Where the disposed food item could be clearly identified(footnote 2), the most wasted foods in households were vegetables or potatoes (14%), which included peelings from these foods(footnote 3). Red (1%) and white meats (1%) were among the least wasted food groups. The 27 food business operators (FBOs) in the KL2 food waste sample were observed to dispose of food on 802 occasions (averaging just under 10 occasions of food waste per FBO per day). All observed food waste occasions in FBOs related to preparing a meal, as post-meal food waste was not captured during the study as this typically occurred off-camera and was difficult to track (for example, in takeaways post-meal food waste would take place in the customer’s home). Where the disposed food items could be clearly identified, just under a fifth of food waste in FBOs (18%) were vegetables and potatoes, followed by fresh carbohydrates, such as bread (5%) and red meat (4%). Overall, the main factors influencing the creation of food waste in households were: a lack of skills to plan meals and judge portion size, which enabled food waste (Psychological capability). a lack of time to plan meals, which enabled food waste, together with the lack of space to store foods which while reducing over-purchasing also made it difficult for participants to see what foods they had stored (Physical opportunity). needing to accommodate different and changing meal preferences of family members, especially children, which enabled food waste (Social opportunity). These were reinforced by the following contextual factors(footnote 4): values around the importance of preventing food waste, which discouraged the creation of food waste (Reflective motivation). the extent to which weekly meal routines were established in the households, which discouraged the creation of food waste (Automatic motivation). The main factors affecting whether FBOs created food waste were: skills for food planning and cost management, which discouraged the creation of food waste (Psychological capability). the space to store or display foods which both discouraged and enabled the creation of food waste, together with the processes in place to plan inventories, which discouraged the creation of food waste (Physical opportunity). the culture of the business in relation to food waste, which generally discouraged the creation of food waste (Social opportunity). These were reinforced by: values around the importance of preventing food waste, which generally discouraged the creation of food waste (Reflective motivation). consistent menus and associated routines to prepare similar foods, helped to minimise the creation of food waste (Automatic motivation).