An exploratory survey on household food waste in Egypt

Food Security, 2018

Food loss and food waste are recognized as two of the most challenging dilemmas facing the world today with serious repercussions on food security, the environment, and global as well as regional and national economies. This is not different in the Arab countries where the food loss and food waste generated per person sometimes exceeds 210 kg per year. Literature searches indicate there is a paucity of applied studies that investigate the drivers, sources, management, quantification, policies, interventions, and initiatives to reduce food loss and food waste in the Arab world, a region with more than 400 million inhabitants. Despite the importance of the topic, only twenty-five relevant articles were identified, providing limited data on food loss and food waste generation. The studies also use sampling procedures that do not allow for generalization of results over the Arab region or even for making comparisons among studies. The review concludes that further research on food loss and food waste along the food supply chain in the Arab world is necessary with a focus on trends, causes, and social, technological, behavioral, attitudinal, and cultural drivers. Investigating environmental and economic implications along with policy development and coping strategies, as well as consumer attitudes towards waste in general and food waste in particular are also important topics to be researched, especially given the variation in cultural and religious practices across the Arab world. The generation of such information and knowledge is indispensable for taking remedial action towards mitigating the problem of food loss and food waste.

International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development 8(1), 1-16, 2018

Food losses refer to edible food mass decrease throughout the human food chain. Food losses occurring at consumption stage are called food waste. Food Losses and Waste (FLW) represent one of the most critical social, economic and ecological challenges facing humanity, besides being also an ethical issue. FAO data show that roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. There are no precise and accurate data regarding food waste in Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. The review paper aims at providing insights about the extent of FLW in NENA region with a special focus on Arab countries and Iran. The paper explores linkages between food waste and food security. Moreover, it analyses the economic and environmental implications of FLW. FLW vary depending on food type, country and season. Generally speaking, postharvest losses are significant in this region for most of commodity groups. It is estimated that FLW amount to 34% of food supply in NENA region. FLW undermine the very foundations of food security and amount to major depletion of resources (e.g. water, land, energy) and produce needlessly greenhouse gases. They also represent a wasted investment that reduces farmers’ incomes and increase consumers’ expenses. Therefore, food waste reduction is crucial for improving the sustainability of the food supply chain and achieving food and nutrition security in the region.

Book of Proceedings of the VI International Scientific Agriculture Symposium “Agrosym 2015”; 15-18 October, 2015; Jahorina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. ISBN 978-99976-632-2-1. pp. 1353-1360, 2015

Food losses and waste is generated in important amounts across the food chain, from production to consumption, imposing serious environmental, social and economic costs. More attention is paid in Morocco to food losses while food waste (FW) is generally overlooked. There are few research activities on this problem in the kingdom. This exploratory study aims to evaluate household FW in Morocco. An online survey with 122 Moroccan households was conducted in February-May 2015 to assess the knowledge and relative importance of FW; attitudes towards FW; impacts of behaviors regarding food and food management; quantity and value; as well as barriers and willingness to behavioral change. Sample is gender-balanced (52% female and 48% male) and rather young (80% are less than 44 years old) while most of respondents have high education level. Results show that household's planning and shopping activities are important predictors of FW. On the other hand, attitudes may change according to periods especially in Ramadan (87% declare that FW is higher during this month) and also to the category of food (most wasted product groups are cereals and bakery products, fruits and vegetables). Most of the respondents have a good understanding of food labels. It seems that FW is widespread in Morocco as only 3.3% of respondents declare that they do not waste any food. About two-fifths (39%) declare that their households throw away at least 250 g of still consumable food each week. The economic value of FW generated each month is more than 60 Moroccan Dirham (≈ 6 US$) for 54% of respondents' households. In order to change consumers and household's FW behavior, efforts should be directed towards providing consumers with skills and tools to deal with their food-related activities and to consider environmental and economic impacts of food waste.

AgroFor international journal 2(1): 55-67. http://www.agrofor.rs.ba/data/20170221-08-arous%20at%20all.pdf, 2017

Food losses and waste (FLW) is a phenomenon that has been underestimated, little studied and poorly documented in the Mediterranean countries. Actually, no policies, laws, strategies and action plans have been implemented to reduce FLW in Algeria. This exploratory study aims to evaluate household FW in Algeria. An online survey with 323 Algerian households was conducted in February-April 2015 to assess the knowledge and relative importance of FW; attitudes towards FW; impacts of behaviors regarding food and food management; FW quantity and value; as well as barriers and willingness to behavioral change. Sample is gender-balanced (54% female and 46% male) and rather young (93% are less than 44 years old) while most of respondents have high education level. Results show that household planning and shopping activities are significant forecasters of FW. Attitudes may change according to periods especially in Ramadan (88% of respondents declare that FW increase during this month) and to the category of food (most wasted product groups are fruits and vegetables, cereals and bakery products). Most of the respondents have a good understanding of "use by" food date label while they still confuse the meaning of "best before". It seems that FW is widespread in Algeria as only 1% of respondents declare that they do not waste any food. About 15% declare that their households throw away at least 250 g of still consumable food each week. Even though Algeria is considered as a developing country, an important part of food wastage occurs at consumer level as in high and middle income countries. In order to reduce food waste, efforts should be directed towards providing consumers with skills and tools to deal with their food-related activities and to better consider the impact of food waste on the environment and economy.

Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 2018

Worldwide, food waste is one of the prime issues threatening food security and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is not an exception. With 427 kg of food wasted per capita per year, the country ranks among the top food wasters. Ironically, the Kingdom has limited arable lands and scarce water resources to support mass-scale agriculture and to feed its increasing population, KSA relies heavily on imports and subsidized food to meet needs. Yet, food is wasted at restaurants, caterers, cafeterias and, especially, by households such that food waste is the single-largest component of the landfills. The review article is based on the grey and scientific literature published in the English and Arabic languages on the issue of food waste in Saudi Arabia. Information sources like Web of knowledge, online resources and the databases available through the King Saud University, Saudi Arabia were accessed and used to collect information on food waste, its social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts and related topics. Since food items and groceries are abundantly available to all living in KSA and they are highly subsidized, the residents take food for granted. According to a recent survey, about 78% of food purchased in KSA is discarded each week in order to make room for new groceries. The factors responsible for food waste include: lack of awareness; and insufficient and inappropriate planning when shopping. Food waste in restaurants, celebrations, social events and occasions are enormous. Waste is common in festivals and special events where the customs is to provide more food than required. There is a need to change society's food culture, particularly among the women and the youth, as they are largest segment of the society and the prime food wasters. The analysis of the factors responsible for food waste, identified in this article suggests a ''Stop Wasting Food" campaign should be launched. It is also recommended to determine and activate the role of extension education to reduce food waste in the KSA through vibrant capacity building programs for youth and women, in particular, and society in general. Ó 2018 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.

Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, 2020

Food waste has recently become one of the most common problems facing the hospitality sector. Food waste in the kitchen represents the largest waste stream in a full-service hotel and approximately four to ten percent of food purchased by restaurants becomes kitchen loss, both edible and inedible. It is, however, food waste in the hospitality sector that has been excluded from attention. This study provides critical literature of kitchen food waste according to chefs' viewpoint in Alexandria Governorate-Egypt hotels. The study aims to evaluate practices implemented in kitchens; moreover, increase awareness among kitchen staff with the dangers of excessive food waste. The study also discusses the application of smart food waste management systems in kitchens and finally, recommends some effective practices for effect food waste reduction. In order to achieve these objectives, 300 questionnaire forms are distributed separately and by mail to professional kitchen staff in all types of hotels. The returned and valid forms were (253) forms with a percentage rate (84.3%). Data were described using mean, standard deviation, Pearson coefficient correlation, Spearman coefficient. The study highlights the lack of awareness among kitchen staff towards food waste issues, due to which management actions were taken by the managers. labor, soil, water and other inputs used to grow, manufacture, distribute and prepare food are lost with each kilogram that is thrown away (Stuart, 2009; Hogg, Wilson, Gibbs, Holmes, & Eve 2010). Appropriate waste management is recognized as a vital requirement for sustainable development (UNHSP, 2010; UNEP, 2011). Food waste has emerged as one of the world's most critical human-green issues. One-third of global food (1.3 billion) tons of food is mislaid from production to consumption, with significant variation by region (Gustavsson, Cederberg, Sonesson, Van Otterdijk, and Meybeck 2011). Food waste is a chief international challenge (World Food Programme, 2014). Additionally, food waste is the number one waste management trouble for hotels around the globe (Epler, 2017).

The North African Journal of Food and Nutrition Research 2(3): 51-57, 2018

Background: Food losses and food waste represent an emerging problem with enormous economic, environmental, and social implications. Therefore, the reduction of food wastage is considered a promising strategy, not only to achieve food security but also to improve the food system sustainability. Food wastage is a serious issue also in North Africa region. Aims: This paper provides an overview on research dealing with food losses and waste (FLW) in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia). Methods and Material: A systematic review was carried out in January 2018 using Scopus database. Issues addressed in the systematic review include geography of research on FLW in North Africa (i.e. countries considered or underserved), bibliometric parameters (e.g. journals, institutions) as well as thematic focus (agricultural loss, food waste). Selected records were also interrogated to see if they address the extent of FLW, the relation between food wastage and food security, economic implications of FLW, and environmental footprints of FLW. Results: The results show that research on FLW is still marginal in North Africa in general and in Libya and Mauritania in particular. Moreover, while there are some interesting pieces of research on the amount of FLW, environmental and economic impacts of FLW as well as their implications in terms of food security are largely overlooked. Conclusions: North African researchers should pay more attention to food wastage issue. Such an endeavor should be supported by research policy in North Africa.

Journal of sustainable development of transport and logistics, 2022

Purpose: The primary aim of this paper is to explore the issue of food waste in contemporary societies, its causes, consequences, and potential solutions. Methodology: The authors conducted a survey among households in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland to diagnose the structure and causes of food waste. They also analyzed statistical data on food waste in European Union countries. Results: The study found that the most food waste occurs in Germany, France, and Italy, while the least occurs in Malta, Luxembourg, and Slovenia. The authors concluded that food waste harms three interconnected areas of sustainable development goals: environmental, economic, and social. Theoretical Contribution: This paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on food waste by providing a comprehensive analysis of its causes and impacts backed by empirical data. It adds value to sustainability studies by linking food waste to broader socio-economic and environmental issues. Practical Implications: The authors propose several measures to reduce food waste, such as planning purchases, processing food, sharing food with relatives or pets, using conventional and non-standard methods of food storage, and increasing the level of education and awareness about the issue. Individuals, communities, and policy-makers can implement these practical suggestions to address the problem of food waste.

Sustainability

The enormous amounts of food going as waste to landfills is of great concern in Saudi Arabia. The issue of food waste is complex, with its numerous social, cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability dimensions warranting further investigations. Food waste is one of the prime issues threatening food security in Saudi Arabia. This article aims to gauge the real issue, to create awareness among those who waste large amounts of food, and to encourage planners and policy makers to implement corrective measures. This article aims to stimulate interest within the scientific community, seek support from different branches of Saudi Arabian government, and engage all major segments of society. A thorough search of the international scientific publications and the grey literature published in English and Arabic was made. It was discovered that the available literature is scarce, and tends to focus on finding knowledge about the problem rather than on generating solutions. Thus, furth...

AgroFor international journal, 1/1: 172-181, 2016

Food waste (FW) is seen as an obstacle to achieving food and nutrition security and food systems sustainability. It is known in literature that households are significant contributors to the total amount of FW. This paper reports on results of an online survey that was conducted from February to April 2015 with a random sample of 281 Tunisian adults. The aim of the survey is to assess the knowledge and relative importance of FW; attitudes towards FW; impacts of behaviors regarding food and food management; quantity and value of FW; as well as barriers and willingness to behavioral change. The sample was not gender-balanced (71.2% female and 28.8% male). The majority of the respondents was young (70.8% aged between 18 and 34 years) and has high education level (95.4% having university and PhD degrees). Food waste is prevalent in Tunisia as about the half of respondents declare that they throw food. The most wasted food products are fruits, vegetables, and cereals and bakery products. Only 42.7% of respondents declared that the economic value of food waste generated each month is more than 6US$. Most of Tunisian respondents have a good understanding of food labels that is probably due to the high education level of the sample. About 37% of respondents throw weekly at least 250 g of still consumable food. To reduce FW in Tunisia it is important to set a strategy at all food chain levels. There is also an urgent need to raise people's and organizations awareness towards this problem. This article provides a basis for the development of other more context specific investigations and interventions for the prevention of household FW in Tunisia.