Sustainable food waste management in supermarkets

ood waste represents a significant burden to waste management systems, exacerbating food insecurity and contributing to global pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Supermarkets bear partial responsibility for food waste, yet their sustainability efforts could also contribute to a solution. The present work aims at evaluating a sustainable approach to food waste management within supermarkets. To this end, we conducted a multi-criteria analysis, incorporating the perspectives of academic experts and 505 Italian consumers. Experts deemed residual value apps the most sustainable solution for food waste management in supermarkets, while also emphasising the influence of price and brand image. The consumer analysis corroborated these results. Specifically, consumers expressed a willingness to pay 36 % less for a bag of goods set to expire within 2–3 days, which increased to 60 % for goods set to expire within 24 h. The findings point to opportunities for mutual benefit between consumers and suppliers when food waste is effectively managed in store, thereby highlighting the need for further, product-focused research.