Background: The challenge of food waste is significant in Australia's hospitals and aged care facilities, where 251,000 tonnes of food are estimated to be wasted annually (FIAL, 2021. In healthcare settings, food waste can account for up to 50% of total waste, driven by the complexities of large-scale food service operations and the resource-constrained environments of these facilities (Canali et al. 2016; Carino et al. 2020). Food waste in these settings not only represents environmental and economic losses but may impact patient well-being, such as nutritional deficiencies (Simzari, 2017).
Aims: To investigate the sector-wide factors influencing food waste within hospitals and aged care facilities across Australia.
Methods: The study involved qualitative data collection through in-depth interviews (n = 19) with diverse stakeholders across Australia's hospital and aged care sectors. Interviewees included individuals, food service dietitians, managers, sustainability officers, government policy officers, food safety auditors, and industry representatives.
Results: Several factors influence food waste in hospitals and aged care settings. Strict government regulations dictate nutritional requirements and food safety measures, often resulting in excessive portion sizes that patients do not fully consume. Limited resources (e.g., time, money, staff) and skill shortages, manufacturers providing oversized packs, and lack of guidance on storage and shelf-life cause spoilage and contribute to food waste. Some facilities are unable to divert food from landfills due to the lack of organic waste recycling providers.
Facilities that have the capacity to systematically measure food waste are more likely to manage and reduce food waste effectively. Some facilities use digital technologies to facilitate this process, collecting data on plate waste, kitchen waste, and food diverted from landfills into organic waste recycling. Along with patient satisfaction data, this information enables food service managers to implement targeted interventions, such as refining meal planning to better match patient preferences and optimising forecasting to reduce overproduction and spoilage. However, challenges in the sector include the varied methods of measuring and auditing food waste, which inhibit the ability to compare waste quantities across facilities and set benchmarks for food waste.
Food service design significantly impacts waste generation. Models that allow greater patient choice, such as the room service model, effectively reduce waste by enabling patients to order food when they want, aligning more closely with their needs and preferences. This minimises overproduction and waste. In contrast, traditional models, where meals are ordered a day in advance, often lead to over-ordering because patients cannot accurately predict their future appetites. Reducing the time between ordering and consumption helps align food preparation with actual demand, preventing waste.
Conclusion: This project has identified some of the systemic challenges in reducing food waste across the hospital and aged care sectors. We identify that the measurement of food waste enables the ability to reduce and manage it, although the varied methods of measuring food waste inhibit comparison and benchmarking across the sector.