Follow the food: Waste reducing retail actions; what happens when the food reaches the consumer?

In Sweden, the retail sector is constantly working to reduce its food waste. Examples of this are attempts to sell food in new ways or with reduced prices, or donating it to charity.

Best case scenario, this benefits the stores while also reducing food waste at the consumer stage, which both in Sweden and in other high-income countries is the stage in the food chain where the largest amount of food is wasted.

Still, we actually know nothing about what happens to the food that is sold or donated with the purpose of reducing food waste.In three case studies, established routines for reducing food waste will be evaluated, with the aim of following food sold or donated all the way to the consumer.

Amounts of food sold or donated is measured in relation to what is thrown away in stores, and questionnaires and interviews are used to investigate what happens at the consumer stage. We ask: do actions to reduce food waste in stores lead to reduced waste at home for the consumer?

A large qualitative study is also carried out in which organizational processes linked to waste reducing actions and the evaluation studies are investigated in-depth.The project is unique in following the food all the way to the consumer stage.

The results will fill important scientific gaps about the relationship between retail actions and consumer behavior - two stages that are usually disintegrated in research - and provides immediately applicable knowledge to decision makers and the retail sector.