Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between food preservation and reducing consumer waste is of value in developing sustainable meal options. The research reports insights into Austrian marketplace for frozen and fresh foods that have been obtained from a consumer survey. The consumer survey methodologies indicate how preservation can change meal planning and lower food waste across frozen and fresh and ambient food purchases using freezing preservation methods. The results show food waste can be reduced by six-fold when frozen foods are compared with fresh foods. This study highlights the requirement for a greater understanding of the probability that specific foods will be wasted with respect to the frequency of purchase. This is a limitation of the current study that has been investigated by other researchers. This research has enabled the identification of different food waste amounts for different food product categories. The data presented could be used to guide food product development so that less consumer waste is produced. The research suggests a decision matrix approach can be used to can guide new product development and a model of this matrix is presented so that it may provide fit-for-purpose food preservation options for consumers. This paper will continue to highlight the overlooked value of food preservation during processing and manufacturing of foods and their preparation in households.
Highlights
Consumers produce the greatest amount of food waste and loss in the food supply chains of developing and developed economies (Gustavsson et al, 2011)
Research conclusion The research reported here shows purchased fresh foods have a six-fold greater food waste compared to purchased frozen food in a survey of 2,800 Austrian households
The research supports previous research conducted in the UK where a 47 per cent food waste reduction was demonstrated for frozen foods compared to fresh foods
Summary
Consumers produce the greatest amount of food waste and loss in the food supply chains of developing and developed economies (Gustavsson et al, 2011). It is crucial to consider food waste reduction as an outcome of using preserved foods because research carried out previously demonstrated it can help us to define the sustainability of meals that consumers prepare (Martindale, 2017) In this study, it is demonstrated how frozen preservation can provide greater utilisation of food by consumers and reduce household food waste. Freezing foods provides availability of out-of-season produce which can be included in the sustainability assessments of frozen and fresh produce (Foster et al, 2014) While these benefits of food preservation are important it is the impact on consumer food waste that is investigated here.
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