Reasons for food losses during home preparation (original) (raw)

2019, British Food Journal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons for household preparation losses. Design/methodology/approach Observations of preparation behaviors and semi-structured interviews of nine people were conducted in their kitchens. The data were analyzed through a qualitative data analysis method. Findings Three types of preparation losses were identified, i.e. possibly avoidable food waste, excessive removals and unintentional losses. Possibly avoidable food waste and excessive removals were generated owing to people’s perception that is in the gray area between edible and inedible, their preferences, lower quality of food, convenience in preparation, lack of preparation skill and knowledge, and lack of concern about preparation losses. Unintentional losses were tiny pieces of food that were left on cooking tools. Research limitations/implications As this study’s participants were nine women living in Japan, further research is needed in order to achieve saturation. Originality...