Cited by 100Food Waste Reduction and SustainabilityAgriculture Sustainability and Environmental ImpactWaste Management and Recycling

Initiatives on prevention of food waste in the retail and wholesale trades

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Hanssen, Ole Jørgen, Stenmarck, Åsa, Werge, Mads, Silvennoinen, Kirsi, Katajajuuri, Juha-Matti·2011·TemaNord

Abstract

This project was initiated by the Nordic Council of Ministers and its waste prevention group. The project has been focusing on the following issues:*Amounts of food waste from the retail and wholesale sector*Causes for food waste generation*Initiatives to reduce the amounts of food waste*Recommendations for measures that could be taken to change the present situationThe results are based on a literature review and interviews with representatives from the retail and wholesale sector in the Nordic countries.AmountsIn all countries there exists detailed information from retail and wholesale chains but from Denmark and Sweden these data have not been made available for the project as they are not public. In Norway detailed data have been made available through the ForMat project. In Finland some chains have provided data within the project and an estimation of the total value has been made. The data from Norway is considered representative of the composition of food waste and used as to estimate the composition in the other Nordic countries. The most common product groups present in the waste flows are; fresh fruits, vegetables, and fresh bakery products. At the bottom of the list there is canned, dried and frozen food, all with very long shelf lives.Causes for food waste generationThe main reason observed in the interviews is that the food becomes “un-saleable". All known causes for this are more or less linked to customers? behaviour or to the shop-owners top priority goal to sell (which means to provide full shelves and a broad variety of products). Other reasons are related to how the shops are operated or how the food is handled in the shops.Initiatives to reduce food wasteA number of initiatives have already been taken within the sector, for example optimisation of the selling of products, better management of orders, better handling of food and increased education of personnel. The interviews showed that one of the important obstacles in reducing food losses is the notion that customers expect full shelves with a great variety of “fresh" food. No one in the sector would introduce measures which might decrease the sales. Much would be won if the behaviour and desires of the customers could be changed.Suggestions for actionsIt is not efficient for authorities to develop regulations that directly interfere with the work being done in companies to limit food waste, but three types of actions should be given priority: *Actions to be taken with the customer in mind. These actions should aim at changing the behaviour and the demands of the customers.*Actions to prevent regulations and policies that might increase the amount of food waste in the retail sector.*Actions that lead to the best treatment of food waste and facilitates donating of food etc.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.6027/tn2011-548

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7 of 7 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Families with children are more likely to waste food than those without.

    “Families with children are more likely to waste food than those without [39,86].”
  • Previous studies have shown that younger people waste more food than older people.

    “Although there is no clear conclusion about which socio-demographic aspects affect FW more, previous studies that examined the relationship between age and FW have shown that younger people waste more food than older people [39,51].”
  • Household size and composition play a significant role in food waste generation.

    “Household (family) size and composition play a significant role in FW generation.”

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Authors
Hanssen, O. J., Stenmarck, Å., Werge, M., Silvennoinen, K., & Katajajuuri, J.-M.
Venue
TemaNord
Published
2011-08-31
ISSN
0908-6692 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W366269211
Cited by
99
References
7
Citations by year
2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 7
FWCI
13.75
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • TemaNord (publishedVersion)
  • KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Jukuri (Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)) (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
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Waste Management and Recycling
Keywords
food waste prevention, retail trade, wholesale trade, waste prevention, waste hierarchy, EU waste directives, food waste causes, Nordic Council of Ministers

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