Food Waste in a Private Hospital Food Service in Southern Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Food waste can occur throughout the production chain, ranging from production until the final consumer. Food services include losses during food preparation and preservation, as well as losses that occur with ready food that is not consumed in its entirety.

Objective: The objective of this research was to identify the reasons that contribute to the waste of food in a hospital cafeteria.

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational research, developed at the food and nutrition unit of a private hospital in the city of Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul. The instrument for data collection was the application of an online questionnaire adapted from the survey routinely applied on the spot. The participants in this study were employees who have meals in the institution’s cafeteria.

Results: The study showed that 21.6% of employees said they left food scraps on the plate after lunch. The main reasons for this waste were related to the way of preparing the food, including seasoning, temperature of the food in the buffet, flow of the cafeteria, where it is only possible to serve once and awareness of the custumers.

Conclusion: The reasons reported by employees for wasting food in the cafeteria are similar to those of other studies, showing that the problems are repeated in different types of food services. The performance of institutional campaigns and the monthly presentation of indicators to custumers help in the search for a leftover reduction.