Quantification of food waste in school canteens: A mass flow analysis

• Main Authors: Kasavan, Saraswathy, Ali, Nurul Izzati Binti Mohd, Ali, Sharif Shofirun Bin Sharif, Masarudin, Nadia Azia Binti, Yusoff, Sumiani
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier 2021
• Subjects: Q Science (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/28101/

Despite the growing public, academic and government attention on food waste (FW) issue, there is still little information on the scales and patterns of school canteen food waste, particularly in developing countries such as Malaysia. This paper aims to examine the current status of FW generation by evaluating the key performance indicators (KPIs), analysing the value loss (monetary) of unconsumed food and Mass Flow Analysis (MFA) of each food item from canteens in public schools in Malaysia. The present study adopted the direct weighing FW method. It investigated the amount and patterns of FW in ten school canteens location within the Hulu Selangor municipality, Malaysia. Based on the result gathered, the total quantity of FW generated at ten school canteens is about 101.3 kg/day with a total value of unconsumed food is about RM 195.78. The study also found that the average FW in schools is 6.4 g per portion per day and 12.2 g per capita per day. Staple foods and vegetables are the most commonly wasted food items, and other types of food represent minor waste. The mass balance of food raw materials in the food production process illustrates that 82.6 per cent of the total food input is used to prepare the meals, while the remaining 17.4 per cent end up as FW. The present study empirically promotes the transparency of food waste quantification at the school level, and it can help to identify hotspots and strategies with the most significant potential for waste reduction.