An increasing number of individuals are eating out due to work and study commitments. This trend directly influences people's food choices, especially those who frequently rely on snacks and pre-packaged foods. Consuming these foods can lead to long-term health consequences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe generation of bread waste at suppliers and retailers is often linked to the production of surplus bread. This study reports the results of the first direct quantification and economic assessment of surplus bread conducted in Italy, involving a panel of 12 bakeries and their branches located in the Lazio region, which compiled a daily diary for 5 months. They are small-scale bakeries which reflect the typical structure of the Italian businesses in the bakery sector, producing fresh bread and selling it directly to consumers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the aim of disclosing the antecedents and dynamics of food loss generation in the upstream stages of the fruit and vegetable sector, this paper presents the results of a series of semi-structured interviews with 10 Producers' Organisations (POs) in Germany and Italy. The content of the interviews is analysed by applying a qualitative content analysis approach, thus disclosing the most relevant issues affecting food loss generation at the interface between POs and buyers (industry and retailers). Several similarities emerge as we compare the answers provided by Italian and German POs, especially concerning the role of retailers' cosmetic specification on products in the generation of losses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBoth Glycaemic index (GI) and Glycaemic Load (GL) were introduced to measure the impact of a carbohydrate-containing food on blood glucose. From this perspective, high-amylose (HA) flours, with a higher percentage of resistant starch (RS), may represent a suitable raw material to improve the glycaemic response. The present work aims to investigate the GI of HA bakery products (biscuits, taralli and bread) compared to products obtained from conventional flour.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHousehold food waste is driven by consumer habits and behaviors. The necessary measures implemented during the lockdown worldwide to contain the Covid-19 pandemic altered these consumer practices. This paper examines how household's culinary traditions and food management have changed in Mexico as a result of Covid-related restrictions, and their impact on food waste.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver half of the total amount of food wasted in Europe concerns household food waste which is mainly due to incorrect food management habits and behaviour. During the Covid-19 outbreak, food management and consumption habits changed dramatically due to the tough lockdown restrictions imposed by governments to reduce infection. This study investigated how these dramatic changes in the daily lives of consumers influenced the generation of food waste at household level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood waste and obesity and overweight conditions are both linked to the unsustainability of current food systems. This article argues that overnutrition should be considered a form of food waste and it provides a first estimation of the quantity of food over-consumed in Italy. This is done by calculating the excess calories consumed by obese and overweight people and converting them into food quantities by comparison with a typical Italian diet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFoodservice is estimated to produce 12% of the total food waste in Europe, and it is a major target for policies against food waste. The amount of food lost during foodservice operations has been assessed in the literature as a figure ranging from 10% to 41% of the quantity prepared in the kitchen, either as non-served food or as plate waste. In this paper, a systematization of the current initiatives against food waste in EU school foodservice is provided.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe redistribution of unsold food products to charities is often considered a promising strategy to reduce food waste at supermarkets while producing social advantages. The Italian law against food waste (so-called "Gadda law") approved in 2016 allows municipalities to reduce the waste tax due by retail stores, proportionally to the certified amount of surplus food they donate. This option may act as an economic incentive for retailers to activate food waste redistribution initiatives, thus supporting diffusion at a larger scale.
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