Food waste prevention in Malta’s restaurants and supermarkets : practices and prospects

Abstract

Food waste is a significant burden on societies and on the environment. According to the Food and Agriculture organisation, approximately one-third of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted. In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 including a target to reduce food losses at the retail and consumption stages. Malta is committed to meeting this goal. Successfully reducing food waste requires involving many stakeholders both public and private and galvanising them to overcome barriers through positive action. This dissertation focuses on food waste in local restaurants and supermarkets. Research was firstly carried out to discover laws, initiatives and practices adopted abroad. Then semi-structured interviews with 28 private stakeholders were conducted to explore, study and examine what is currently being done by supermarkets and restaurants in Malta and identify their willingness to adopt initiatives successfully implemented overseas. The transcripts of all interviews were analysed to synthesize the information. The tally method helped to categorise various themes. Although Malta should adopt all initiatives highlighted in this research in order to reduce food waste, not all the establishments interviewed agree. There are certain measures which they are adamant not to adopt while they are keen to endorse others.