Using consumer surveys to determine food sustainability
Open accessAbstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to define the sustainability attributes of frozen and fresh food consumption in a typical household. The reason for writing this paper is that food preservation is often overlooked when developing sustainability strategies. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses established carbon footprint data for specific food types and consumer survey data to determine how consumers use fresh and frozen products in the home. Consumption and waste data for 83 households was obtained using a combination of narrative and graphical association questions. Findings – The results show greenhouse gas emissions associated with a diets containing frozen food are reduced because 47 per cent less frozen foods is wasted as compared to fresh foods with a typical household wasting 10.4 per cent of fresh food and 5.9 per cent frozen food. Research limitations/implications – This research has highlighted the importance of understanding the waste impacts of catering and food service consumption outside the home. Practical implications – This research will guide future product development for frozen foods with regard to dietary planning and portion control. Social implications – The cost and sustainability benefits of meal planning are identified and these will inform policy making and education to improve dietary choices. Originality/value – This work extends the scope of current consumer surveys that assess quality, value and taste attributes to sustainability criteria and it will enable collaboration between fresh and frozen product categories to deliver sustainable dietary options.
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Freezing food extends the shelf-life of food and leftovers.
“Another strategy to prevent food going to waste is the freezing of food, thereby extending the shelf-life of food and leftovers (Martindale, 2014;Quested et al., 2013;Secondi et al., 2015).”
From Food waste matters - A systematic review of household food waste practices and their policy implications (2018) · cites this paper as Martindale, 2014
A survey of U.K. households found 47 percent more fresh food was wasted compared to frozen foods because fresh food spoils faster.
“A survey of U.K. households found 47 percent more fresh food was wasted compared to frozen foods because fresh food spoils faster (Martindale 2014).”
From Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development (2016) · cites this paper as Martindale 2014
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“Another strategy to prevent food going to waste is the freezing of food, thereby extending the shelf-life of food and leftovers (Martindale, 2014; Quested et al., 2013; Secondi et al., 2015).”
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- Authors
- Martindale, W.
- Affiliations
- Sheffield Hallam University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Martindale, Wayne
- ORCID
- Martindale, Wayne
- Venue
- British Food Journal
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2014-07-01
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1194-1204
- ISSN
- 0007-070X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2015254967
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 4.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- Locations
- British Food Journal (publishedVersion)
- Lincoln Repository (University of Lincoln) (acceptedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- SHURA (Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive) (Sheffield Hallam University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Consumer behavior in food and health
- Keywords
- food sustainability, frozen food, fresh food, household food consumption, food waste, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint, food preservation, meal planning, portion control, consumer attitudes, sustainable diets
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