We purchase more food than we can consume, FOODprint survey shows

The public in Cyprus purchase more food than they can consume although there is a positive trend in their behaviour as regards buying, consuming, storing, reusing, take-out food and composting, according to the results of the 3rd FOODprint quantitative survey on food waste.

The survey was conducted 28/2 to 2/3/2023 and 510 people, over 18, answered 16 questions. There were citizens who either do the food shopping at home or are the ones to prepare the food in the house.

The other two surveys took place in 2020 and 2022.

The results of this survey were presented online by Kyriakos Parpounas, Managing consultant at K. Parpounas Sustainability Consultants.

It is shown that Cypriot consumers are becoming more aware as regards food waste and take positive actions to reduce it. They consume more leftover food and store it better.

Marginal decrease

The percentage who often or always throw leftover food in the trash has decreased marginally (2020: 18%, 2022: 15%, 2023: 16%), while the consumption of food in the following days has increased (2020: 64%, 2022: 72%, 2023:73%), as well as the use of leftover food for the preparation of other meals (2020:18%, 2022:25%, 2023:28%).

The survey showed that consumers tend to buy more food than they need mainly because they want to keep stocks in case of emergency (44%) and to have food in case they have guests at home (36%).

There is a drop in the percentage of households who prepare/order more food than they need when they have guests or are out, from 61% to 52%. At the same time, there is an increase in consumers taking leftover food from restaurants.

Parpounas said that this is mainly a communication project to see how the public changes its trends, habits and behaviour. The general picture is that we have an improvement in positive behaviours and a decrease in negative ones, he added.

Shopping lists

There is an improvement in behaviour regarding expiration date control, food preservation/storage, and the habit of food consumption in next days, an increase of those who prepare a shopping list and plan what to cook. But even though this percentage is increasing, the trend shows that we are always cooking more than we should.

The survey also showed that the percentage who keep food stocks at home and who throw away the old when buying fresh is decreasing. A quarter of the households answered that they do not buy more quantities than they need, a fact that is evaluated positively.

Throughout time, however, households want to have stocks for security reasons in emergency situations (eg unexpected visitors), but this is considered a bad trend as supermarkets and other shops are now open longer hours and they can accommodate the consumers.

The survey showed that the tendency to prepare more food decreases from 61 to 52% while 48% answered that they prepare as much as they need for consumption. Better planning is linked, as explained, to the increase in food prices.

Income-influenced

The results show that younger, higher income men order more portions while people of lower income and single-member families often consume the food in the following days.

A percentage of 33% answered that they give leftover food to pets, 1/3 put food in the freezer for future consumption and 28% use leftover food to prepare other meals.

This tendency is more widespread among younger people of low income and large families. The tendency to give other people food is not a common practice and only 15% do it, based on the survey. Home composting is done by 21% of households and not systematically.

Only 6% do systematic composting and this is because they live in specific areas, are part of a programme, were trained or received free or subsidised special bins.

A percentage of 17% answered that they take food with them from restaurants. Older people, women and people with a higher level of education who are aware of the challenges due to wastage and environmental impact rather than economic reasons are the ones to often take the leftovers from restaurants.

Throwing away food

The survey showed that 33% throw away 11-20% of the food, fruit and vegetables they buy, that is, on average each household throws away more than 1/5 of what they buy and there was no significant difference compared to the previous surveys.

The main reasons for discarding food are the expiration date, the fact that the food is not safe to eat and because other members of the household are choosing to eat different meals. Only 17% do not throw food in the trash and there is an increase over time.

It was pointed out by Parpounas that there is an issue with the expiration date in other countries as well, either because citizens do not read it at all or read it incorrectly, and a typical example is milk.

Only 30% feel that they are harming the environment by throwing out food.

In an average Cypriot household, it is estimated that 50% of waste is food waste.

A percentage of 57% answered that they intend to buy fruits and vegetables at reduced prices if they are good and safe to consume but look bad. A platform has been launched where interested parties can get free products that have expired or are close to the expiration date and based on the survey 1/3 of the people asked said they are interested in participating.

Food delivery

Regarding food delivery platforms and how much they contribute to increasing or decreasing food waste, 26% said these services increased rejection and 19% said they reduced it, but the majority answered "don't know or I'm not sure".

As regards food composting only 14% compost food to some extent and this percentage is higher in households with elderly people, in rural areas and who do not live in apartments. A percentage of 40% said they do not compost food due to lack of knowledge and 27% due to lack of space. Only 6% do systematic composting at home.

A 23% answered that in the last 3 months they saw or heard advertising campaigns, spots, messages etc. in the media on food waste and raising awareness and 54% answered negatively. A more general problem exists with messages cluttering as it was mentioned during the presentation.

(Source: CNA)