Commentary Peer-Reviewed
Open
Peer Review
Peer Review
Challenges of Food Service towards Sustainability Beyond Food Waste
1
GreenUPorto – Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/Inov4Agro, DGAOT, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Rua da Agrária 747, 4485-646 Vairão, Portugal
2
H&TRC—Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL—Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal
*
For correspondence.
Academic Editor:
Received: 29 November 2022 Accepted: 22 February 2023 Published: 24 February 2023
Abstract
Food service comprises the production of meals consumed outside the home, including consumers from all age groups and in different sectors, such as schools (from kindergarten to university), public and private companies, the health sector (from hospitals to elderly care institutions), military, sports facilities and restaurants (from fine dining to fast-food). Food service units (FSU) achieved importance and responsibility not only for feeding the population but also as an important setting for public health interventions, potentially educating consumers and modulating behaviours through the meals provided. In addition to its socioeconomic impact, the food service industry has a strong environmental impact. More sustainable food service starts with the basics: minimizing environmental impact by reducing carbon footprint. Food service industry is being encouraged to make choices that positively impact the environment. Nevertheless, most of the efforts and research made in the last years have been focused on evaluating and reducing food waste. This article focuses on strategies that could be implemented beyond food waste, and act on changing the food offer towards health and sustainability while promoting consumers’ behaviour change.
Keywords
Copyright © 2023
Rocha and Viegas. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use and distribution provided that the original work is properly cited.
Funding
This work is funded by National Funds through FCT - Foundation forScience and Technology under the Projects UIDB/05608/2020 and UIDP/05608/2020, UIDB/05748/2020 and UIDP/05748/2020 and Agri-Food XXI I&D&I project NORTE-0145-FEDER-000041.
Cite this Article
Rocha, A., & Viegas, C. (2023). Challenges of Food Service towards Sustainability Beyond Food Waste. Highlights of Sustainability, 2(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.54175/hsustain2010002
References
1.
FoodServiceEurope. European Industry Overview. (2022). http://www.foodserviceeurope.org/en/european-industry-overview (accessed 1 March 2022).
2.
Afshin, A., Sur, P. J., Fay, K. A., Cornaby, L., Ferrara. G., Salama, J. S., et al. (2019). Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet, 393(10184), 1958–1972. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30041-8
3.
Veiros, M. B., & da Costa Proença, R. (May/June 2010). Principios de sustentabilidade na produção de refeições (in Portuguese). https://nuppre.paginas.ufsc.br/files/2014/04/Veiros-e-Proença-2010-Principios-de-sustentabilidade-na-producao-de-refeicoes.pdf (accessed 9 September 2022).
4.
Strasburg, V. J., & Jahno, V. D. (2016). Paradigmas das práticas de gestão ambiental no segmento de produção de refeições no Brasil (in Portuguese). Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental, 22(01), 03–12. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-41522017155538
5.
Carino, S., Porter, J., Malekpour, S., & Collins, J. (2020). Environmental Sustainability of Hospital Foodservices across the Food Supply Chain: A Systematic Review. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120(5), 825–873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.01.001
6.
Nóbrega, F., Veiros, M., & Rocha, A. (2019). Análise dos aspetos ambientais em unidades de alimentação coletiva dos serviços de ação social da universidade do Porto (in Portuguese). Acta Portuguesa de Nutrição, 19, 42–48.
7.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2018). Food Loss and Waste Database. https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/flw-data/en/ (accessed 9 September 2022).
8.
Stenmarck, A., Jensen, C., Quested, T., & Moates, G. (2016). Estimates of European food waste levels. FUSIONS.
9.
European Commission (2018). Food Waste. https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste_en (accessed 9 September 2022).
10.
Harmon, A. H., Gerald, B. L., & Association, A. D. (2007). Position of the American Dietetic Association: Food and Nutrition Professionals Can Implement Practices to Conserve Natural Resources and Support Ecological Sustainability. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 107(6), 1033–1043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2007.04.018
11.
Spiker, M., Reinhardt, S., & Bruening, M. (2020). Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Revised 2020 Standards of Professional Performance for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (Competent, Proficient, and Expert) in Sustainable, Resilient, and Healthy Food and Water Systems. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120(9), 1568–1585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.05.010
12.
Peregrin, T. (2012). Sustainability in Foodservice Operations: An Update. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(5), S12–S15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2012.03.023
13.
Sustainable Food Service. (2016). Energy Conservation. http://www.sustainablefoodservice.com/cat/energy-efficiency.htm (accessed 3 October 2022).
14.
Spinelli, M. G. N. , de Oliveira, G. C., Natalino, L. V., Santos, L. F. d. R., Ribeiro, V. M., Coelho, H. D. d. S. (2020). Sustentabilidade Em Uma Unidade De Alimentação E Nutrição (in Portuguese). Saber Científico, 9(1).
15.
Rodrigues, C. M., Bastos, L. G., Cantarelli, G. S., Stedefeldt, E., da Cunha, D. T., & de Freitas Saccol, A. L. (2020). Sanitary, nutritional, and sustainable quality in food services of Brazilian early childhood education schools. Children and Youth Services Review, 113, 104920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104920
16.
Harris, D., Lott, M., Lakins, V., Bowden, B., & Kimmons, J. (2012). Farm to Institution: Creating Access to Healthy Local and Regional Foods. Advances in Nutrition, 3(3), 343–349. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.111.001677
17.
dos Santos, A. E. R., Faccioli, G. G., de Carvalho, I. M. M., dos Santos, A. R. R., & dos Santos, C. A. (2019). Práticas sustentáveis em unidades de alimentação e nutrição de hospitais públicos em Sergipe (in Portuguese). Revista Ibero-americana De Ciências Ambientais, 10(1), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.6008/CBPC2179-6858.2019.001.0016
18.
Pinto, R. S., Pinto, R. M. d. S., Melo, F. F. S., Campos, S. S., & Cordovil, C. M. d. S. (2018) A simple awareness campaign to promote food waste reduction in a University canteen. Waste Management, 76, 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.02.044
19.
Ranjbari, M., Esfandabadi, Z. S., Zanetti, M. C., Scagnelli, S. D., Siebers, P. O., Aghbashlo, M., Peng, W. X., Quatraro, F., & Tabatabaei, M. (2021). Three pillars of sustainability in the wake of COVID-19: A systematic review and future research agenda for sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Productio, 297, 126660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126660
20.
Bukowski, A. (2018). 4 Trends Shaping the Evolution of Sustainable Foodservice. Kerry.
21.
EAT Lancet Commission Summary Report. (2020). Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems. The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health.
22.
Vermeir, I., Weijters, B., De Houwer, J., Geuens, M., Slabbinck, H., Spruyt, A., et al. (2020). Environmentally Sustainable Food Consumption: A Review and Research Agenda From a Goal-Directed Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1603. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01603
23.
Maynard, D. d. C., Zandonadi, R. P., Braz Assunção Botelho, R. (2023). Green Restaurants. In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38948-2_129-2
24.
Mikkola, M. (2009) Shaping professional identity for sustainability. Evidence in Finnish public catering. Appetite, 53(1), 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.05.007
25.
Ostfeld, R. J. (2017) Definition of a plant-based diet and overview of this special issue. Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, 14(5), 315–315.
26.
Graça, J., Godinho, C. A., & Truninger, M. (2019) Reducing meat consumption and following plant-based diets: Current evidence and future directions to inform integrated transitions. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 91, 380–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.07.046
27.
McManus, K. D. (16 November 2021). What is a plant-based diet and why should you try it? Harvard Health Publishing.
28.
British Nutrition Foundation. (2019). Plant-based diets. https://www.nutrition.org.uk/putting-it-into-practice/plant-based-diets/plant-based-diets/ (accessed 3 January 2023).
29.
Harland, J. & Garton, L. (2016). An update of the evidence relating to plant‐based diets and cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and overweight. Nutrition Bulletin, 41(4), 323–338. https://doi.org/10.1111/nbu.12235
30.
Satija, A. & Hu, F. B. (2018). Plant-based diets and cardiovascular health. Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, 28(7), 437–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcm.2018.02.004
31.
Serra-Majem, L., Tomaino, L., Dernini, S., Berry, E. M., Lairon, D., de la Cruz, J. N., et al. (2020). Updating the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid towards Sustainability: Focus on Environmental Concerns. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23), 8758. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238758
32.
Swinburn, B. A., Kraak, V. I., Allender, S., Atkins, V. J., Baker, P. I., Bogard, J. R., et al. (2019). The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. The Lancet, 393(10173), 791–846. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32822-8
33.
Willett, W., Rockström, J., Loken, B., Springmann, M., Lang, T., Vermeulen, S., et al. (2019). Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet, 393(10170), 447–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4
34.
Rodrigues, S. S. P., Franchini, B., Graça, P., & de Almeida, M. D. V. (2006). A New Food Guide for the Portuguese Population: Development and Technical Considerations. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 38(3), 189–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2006.01.011
35.
Viegas, C., & Rocha, A. (2021). Menos Nutrientes e mais alimentos: Proposta de Abordagem para escolhas mais conscientes (in Portuguese). Acta Portuguesa de Nutrição, 23, 70–75. https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2020.2314
36.
Reipurth, M., Gregersen, C., & Armando Perez-Cueto, F. (2020). Removing a barrier – the effect of plant-based cooking skills on dietary habits. A mixed-method study. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 79(OCE2), E435. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120003833
37.
Viegas, C., & Lins, A. (2020). Changing the food for the future: food and sustainability. European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, 9(2), 52–57. https://doi.org/10.2478/ejthr-2019-0012
38.
Overcash, F., Ritter, A., Mann, T., Mykerezi, E., Redden, J., Rendahl, A., et al. (2018). Impacts of a Vegetable Cooking Skills Program Among Low-Income Parents and Children. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 50(8), 795–802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2017.10.016
39.
Culinary Institute of America. (2022). The Mediterranean Plant-Forward Kitchen. https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/mediterranean-kitchen-overview (accessed 9 October 2022).
40.
Meier, T., Gärtner, C., & Christen, O. (2015). The susDISH analysis method – Sustainability in the catering industry. http://www.nutrition-impacts.org/media/susDISH_engl.pdf (accessed 3 January 2023).
41.
Meier, T., Grauwinkel, U., Forner, F., Volkhardt, I., Stangl, G. I., & Christen, O. (2018). Health and ecological evaluation of 610 recipes in out-of-home catering: Analysis results of the accounting method susDISH. https://www.nutrition-impacts.org/publications?view=article&id=85&catid=43
42.
Speck, M., Bienge, K., Engelmann, T., Langen, N., Teitscheid, P., & Mourabit, X. E. (2018). Potenzial von Simulationen – Situationen der alltäglichen Lebensführung aufgreifen und gesellschaftliche Mitverantwortung diskutieren (in German). HiBiFo - Haushalt in Bildung & Forschung, 7, 89–99. https://doi.org/10.3224/hibifo.v7i3.07
43.
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.
44.
Vidal-Mones, B., Diaz-Ruiz, R., & Gil, J. M. (2022). From evaluation to action: Testing nudging strategies to prevent food waste in school canteens. Waste Management, 140, 90–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2022.01.006
45.
Hanks, A. S., Just, D. R., Smith, L. E., & Wansink, B. (2012). Healthy convenience: nudging students toward healthier choices in the lunchroom. Journal of Public Health, 34(3), 370–376. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fds003
46.
Kroese, F. M., Marchiori, D. R., & de Ridder, D. T. D. (2016). Nudging healthy food choices: a field experiment at the train station. Journal of Public Health, 38(2), e133–e137. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdv096
47.
Andreasen, A, R. (2002). Marketing Social Marketing in the Social Change Marketplace. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 21(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.21.1.3.17602
48.
Peter, P. C., & Honea, H. (2012).Targeting Social Messages with Emotions of Change: The Call for Optimism. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 31(2), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.11.098
49.
FOODICS. (2021). Emotional Marketing: Essential Strategy for Your Restaurant. https://www.foodics.com/emotional-marketing-strategy (accessed 7 November 2022).
50.
United Nations. (2017). SGDs Knowledge Plataform—Portugal. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/portugal (accessed 21 November 2022).
51.
Takacs, B., & Borrion, A. (2020). The Use of Life Cycle-Based Approaches in the Food Service Sector to Improve Sustainability: A Systematic Review. Sustainability, 12(9), 3504. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093504
Metrics
Loading...
Journal Menu
Journal Contact
Highlights of Sustainability
Editorial Office
Highlights of Science
Avenida Madrid, 189-195, 3-3
08014 Barcelona, Spain
08014 Barcelona, Spain
Cathy Wang
Managing Editor
