Environmental aspects of food wastage in trade – a case study

The studies were conducted in 2019 in one of the retail trade networks, running its activity at the territory of the entire Poland. To gather data concerning the quantities of the sold and unsold food products, a survey questionnaire was developed; it was filled up in the headquarters of the trade network. Due to a wide assortment of food products available in the units of retail trade, they were classified into eight basic groups in the mentioned questionnaire: (1) fruits and vegetables; (2) fresh meat, poultry and fish; (3) dairy products, fresh milk, butcher's products, eggs; (4) cooled ready-to-use products; (5) frozen products; (5) bread and baker's products; (7) beverages and (8) powdered products. The questionnaire was filled by the employee of the trade network on the grounds of the data available from all shops of the trade network at the internal system of the company. In the case of each assortment group, the person who filled the questionnaire submitted the weights (in tonnes) of the sold and unsold foods. Then, it was determined the reason for non-selling of food products (Table 1), together with the weight of the product, using codes A, B and C. There were also given the methods for disposal of the products that were withdrawn from sale (using the codes A1, B1 and C1). The data concerning the sale/withdrawal of the food products in the trade network in the years 2017 and 2018 were also collected.

In the analysis of the data and development of the results, one of the quantitative methods was employed, i.e. case study. The mentioned method allows a profound analysis of the examined product. When considering all eight assortment groups, the following determinations were carried out: participation (%) of the unsold food, the most frequent causes of withdrawal of products from sale and the methods of their disposal. The analyses were performed with the consideration of the assortment groups of the products. For analysis of the effect of wasted food on the environment, four categories of vegetal origin as well as animal origin products were used: (1) fruits and vegetables; (2) fresh meat; (3) milk and dairy products, fresh milk, butcher's products, eggs and (4) bread and baker's products. Attention was paid on the four groups of products due to the following reasons: (1) they constituted almost 80% of the total weight of unsold food products in the given trade network and (2) in the groups, they were the products for which literature data were available; owing to this, it was possible to employ the defined values of calculators CO₂ and WF.

Analysis of the data obtained from the trade network showed that ca. 1.3% of food products offered in the trade network in the years 2017–2018 annually was unsold.

The highest contribution to the weight of unsold foods was made by fruits and vegetables (Table 4). Bread and baker's products constituted more than one-fifth of the unsold foods. Similar results were reported by Bilska and Kołożyn-Krajewska [2018]. According to the mentioned studies, fruits and vegetables constituted 39.1% and bread 10.2% in the structure of wasted foods. The main groups of the products connected with food waste in Finnish shops included fruits, vegetables and bread [Katajajuuri et al., 2014]. According to O’Donnell et al. [2015], the highest percentage in the waste was constituted by vegetables and fruits (51.3%). A significant position of bread in the structure of unsold foods, obtained in our own studies, is consistent with the results of other studies [Cicatiello et al., 2017; Katajajuuri et al., 2014; Naturvardsverket 2014].

The dairy products, fresh milk, butcher's products and eggs formed the third category with respect to the share of unsold food. A study conducted by Wrzosek et al. [2014] on 117 trade objects in Poland reported that the mean level of wastage of milk and its products (in relation to the size of deliveries) varied from 0.6% (UHT milk) to 4.4% (buttermilk). On an average, the monthly waste of the mentioned food category in relation to the size of deliveries amounted to 2.7%. According to the FAO [2011], the greatest losses in the field of trade at the territory of Europe were made by fruits and vegetables (10%), and then by fish and sea foods (9%) and root vegetables (7%), and the lowest value was for milk (0.5%).

The structure of the wasted food as stated in our own studies approximates the one found in the report of the Environment Protection Agency in Sweden, where the greatest food losses in supermarkets were concerned with vegetables and fruits (ca. 40%) and bread (27%) [Naturvardsverket, 2014]. For comparison, according to the US Department of Agriculture, the hierarchy of the products constituting the highest participation in the losses is as follows: vegetables (11.4%), fruit (9.7%) and meat, poultry and sea foods (9.7%) [Gunders, 2012]. The reason for the fruits and vegetables belonging to the most frequently wasted foods may be the fact that the discussed type of food is stored in bulk in the baskets in supermarkets, from which they are picked up directly by the consumers. The maintenance of small reserves of perishable products may lead to mechanical damages and, in consequence, to the wastage. As observed by Buchner et al. [2012], fresh products with a shorter expiry date such as fruits and vegetables constituted the majority of the waste.

It was determined that four food categories, which were chosen for analysis of the impact on the environment, constituted 78.3% of the weight of unsold food in a given trade network.

In Table 5 are presented the reasons for the withdrawal of all food categories from the sale. The vast majority of the analysed product categories, excluding bread and baker's products, were withdrawn from the sale due to the following reasons: mechanical damage of packages, loss of freshness in fruits and vegetables, interruption of the cold chain and visible signs of spoilage. The group constituting bread and the baker's products was the most frequently withdrawn group from the sale due to exceeding the expiry date.

The questionnaire contained three methods for disposal of food that was withdrawn from the sale, which were: (1) food donation to the charity organisations for consumption purposes, (2) handing over food for animal feeds or for feed manufacture and (3) food waste destined for disposal. It was found that food withdrawn from the sale in the examined commercial network was most often disposed (wasted – non-utilised in accordance with the primary destination). The products being most often donated to the charity organisations included bread and baker's products (almost 40% of the withdrawn products) and fruits and vegetables (one-third of the withdrawn products) (Table 6).

Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives shows the hierarchy of proceeding with the waste, where the first and the most important measure is to prevent their generation. It refers not only to the trade, but also to all links of the food chain. The preparation of food for reuse would be another desirable activity. Redistribution of food for social purposes, as one of the ways of limiting the losses and food waste, allows donating the unsold products or those with approaching expiry date to the persons who do not have the means for their purchase. As reported by Mena et al. [2011], the food which is characterised by a short expiry date is handed over to the charity organisations in the Great Britain as well as in Spain. According to Garrone et al. [2014], almost 60% of food surpluses being found in the distribution result from the expiry dates for use approaching early. The studies of Donnell et al. [2015] conducted in April 2015 in Philadelphia also indicated the potential of passing on the food for social purposes from the trade area. From among the main reasons for generation of losses, the researchers mentioned the signs of ageing or spoilage of the product, as well as the approaching expiry date [O’Donnell et al., 2015]. On the grounds of the data obtained from 1000 commercial objects of hypermarket and supermarket type located in Italy, it was shown that 55% of food with a short expiry date is handed over to the organisations which deal with its distribution for the appropriate persons, 35% go to disposal companies and 10% is used for animal nutrition [Garrone et al., 2014]. Buzby et al. [2009] stressed that donation of food could additionally contribute to the improvement of the image of the company.

Food donations are very favourable not only from the social viewpoint, but also in environmental and economic aspects. The companies which offer the discussed products to donations save the financial means owing to the reduction of generated waste which must be handed over, on a payable basis, to the specialised company and owing to the reduction of costs of food storage [Schneider 2013].

If the mentioned food does not meet the consumption requirements, it may be utilised for composting or processed into energy. Storage of the food waste is the last stage; however, the listed previous measures should make that this stage could be the ultimate step [Papargyropoulou et al., 2014].

Agriculture (basic production) and food processing are responsible for emission of GHGs including CO₂. The level of GHG emission for the products produced by the above-mentioned sectors differs depending on the type of food. In our own studies, it was found that the weight of vegetal origin products withdrawn from the sale was responsible for decidedly lower CO₂ emission (by 2.5 times) as compared to the animal origin products (Table 7).

It should be stressed that the weight of unsold animal origin products was almost five times lower in relation to the vegetal origin products. As emphasised by Djekic et al. [2019], although meat and dairy products play an important role in human diet, their life cycle is connected with a high emission of GHGs in comparison to other food products with a similar nutritive value. The authors estimated that the emission of CO₂ from the animal origin food waste from Belgrade households was equal to 1762 tonnes per year and from Serbia was 7234 tonnes. Despite the fact that meat is wasted to a small extent, it has a meaningful impact on the climate changes; its contribution reaches to more than 20% of the CF of the total food waste. It results from the fact that the CF of meat includes the emission from production of 1 kg of meat (methane emitted by ruminants), the emission connected with the feed production and the emission relating to manure management [FAO: Food wastage...].

A predominant part of the products withdrawn from the sale in the examined trade network (more than 70%) was wasted, and it was utilised according to the possible destination (donation to charity organisations) only to a small extent. Owing to handing over of the mentioned products for social purposes, ca. 11.59% of CO₂ emission did not constitute the unjustified burden for the natural environment. It was found that as much as 98.5% of CO₂ emitted in the life cycle of animal origin products became the unjustified load for the natural environment. Fruits and vegetables and bread and baker's products were most often handed over to the charity organisations, which reduced insignificantly the unfavourable effect connected with CO₂ emission (Fig. 1). It was estimated that in the scale of the analysed food categories, the vegetal products withdrawn from the sale in a given trade network were responsible for 30% of the emission of CO₂ on an average. Attention is paid to the fact that production of vegetables in Europe is more intensive in respect of CO₂ emission as compared to the same group of products in southeast Asia. Europe utilises more intensive production means (in respect of gas emissions), e.g. artificially heated greenhouses. On the other hand, the situation with the production of cereals is just the opposite. In Asia, their cultivation is more intensive in the discussed respect in comparison to Europe, mainly due to the type of cultivated cereals [FAO: Food wastage...].

Figure 1

When taking into account the WF indicator for the particular food categories, we may observe considerable differences. WF for vegetal origin products is much lower than for animal origin products (Table 8). Due to this reason, the highest WF value was calculated for fresh meat and fish category and the lowest one for fruits and vegetables (in spite of the fact that the weight of the unsold meat and fish was by 8.5 times lower than that of fruits and vegetables).

Owing to the donation of unsold food for charity purposes, the food waste decreased by almost 30%. WF of the transmitted food was estimated to be 2.8 million m³. The mentioned measures allowed decreasing the unjustified environment loading by ca. 17.5% in the examined range of water consumption.

Similar to CO₂ emission, the reduction of water print was dependent on the type of the redistributed food and varied from 1.1% for fresh meat and fish to 38% for bread and baker's products. It results from the fact that animal origin food products are handed over for charity purposes to a small extent. From among four examined food categories during a year, only 6.6% of the unsold fresh meat and fish was donated on an average and 10.4% of dairy products, butcher's products and eggs were handed over. For comparison, fruits and vegetables constituted 56.65% of the donated food and bread and baker's products 26.3%. It should be stressed that there is a potential of increasing the redistribution of animal origin food products from the commercial network. It is connected with the observation that more than 20% of food from the discussed category exceeded the expiry date, so its withdrawal 2–3 days earlier would prevent its waste and would reduce the unfavourable effect on the environment to a considerable degree.

WF of animal husbandry is composed of different elements: indirect WF of feed and direct WF connected with the water used for drinking and water necessary for the service of animals during their management in a farm [Chapgain and Hoekstra 2003; Chapagain and Hoekstra 2004]. Considerable quantities of water in meat processing are used for cleaning and defrosting of the raw material (ca. 3–5 m³/tonne). Other operations where the water consumption is high include inter alia pasteurisation, sterilisation, cooling down, cleaning and disinfection; however, the level of water consumption may vary due to the different types of products or the size of product's lot [Florek, 2014].

It should be mentioned that the consumers when making the choice of the composition of their daily diet also affect the environment [Grunert et al., 2014]. In the opinion of Lea and Worsley [2008], the consumers are not aware of the effect of meat consumption on the environment. Therefore, as stressed by Tobler et al. [2011], the campaigns of ecological education should be focused on the consumption standards, being most significant from the environmental point of view. Reduction in meat consumption may be promoted with an emphasis on the related health advantages [Tobler et al., 2011].