Abstract
PurposeGiven the importance of food waste in the economic, social, health and environmental dimensions, the purpose of this work is to detect, through a systematic and configurative literature review on food-waste-measurement methodologies, the global approaches, characteristics, limitations, opportunities and results applied within the literature. The analysis of these papers provides useful information about how far we are from international action plans and, therefore, how we need to direct programs and policies to measure and reduce food waste and ensure food security and food safety.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have conducted a systematic, configurative literature review on food waste measurement methodologies applied only within empirical studies published in academic peer-reviewed scientific journals. Based on the Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597 of May 3, 2019 (OJEU, 2019) regarding common methodologies and minimum quality requirements for the homogeneous assessment of food waste quantities and composition, the authors investigated the issue on Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) from June 2000 to June 2020. The authors researched keywords within article titles, abstracts and author keywords by utilizing 34 different research strings.FindingsThe proposed review particularly refers to following topics: measurement methodologies applied according to the Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597; editorial placement and publication timeline; geographical area; food supply-chain stage and publication journals; and the main features, limitations, opportunities and results for each measurement methodology as presented by authors. Among the first 48,000 results, only 58 academic articles are perfectly in line with the aim of the review, highlighting the lack of standardized methodologies, the limits of those proposed and the deficiency of comparable results to achieve sustainable international goals.Originality/valueThe proposed review is one of the few concerning food waste measurement methodologies. Food waste measurement is essential to rebalance the actual inadequate food system and to switch it toward a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly one, thereby (1) managing the human nutrition system paradox of hungry, undernourished and over-weight people; (2) reducing food insecurity; (3) ensuring each living being's access to healthy, nutritious and sustainable food; and (4) reducing environmental impacts (neutral or positive impact) and the loss of biodiversity and mitigating climate change.
Highlights
Food loss and food waste represent global health, social, economic and environmental concerns, imposing several challenges in terms of sustainable development (Costello et al, 2015), waste management (Cristobal et al, 2018), human health (Vandevijvere et al, 2015; Salemdeeb et al, 2017) and reduction in financial operating costs (Dreyer et al, 2019)
Given the importance of food waste in the economic, social, health and environmental dimensions, the purpose of this work is to detect, through a systematic and configurative literature review on food waste measurement methodologies, the global approaches, characteristics, limitations, opportunities and results applied within the literature
Edible food waste estimated in 489 g per household per week based on questionnaires, and 1,035 g per week based on diaries
Summary
Food loss and food waste represent global health, social, economic and environmental concerns, imposing several challenges in terms of sustainable development (Costello et al, 2015), waste management (Cristobal et al, 2018), human health (Vandevijvere et al, 2015; Salemdeeb et al, 2017) and reduction in financial operating costs (Dreyer et al, 2019). The importance of food loss and food waste has increased over the last few decades. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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