The role of the hospitality industry in food waste
Understanding the food waste management and ways to avoid food waste in the hospitality industry
The hotel industry is a subset of the hospitality industry that focuses on offering accommodation services to customers. In 2019, the global hotel and resort industry was valued at 1.21 trillion US dollars, down from 1.24 trillion US dollars the previous year. In 2021, the industry is expected to be worth $1.22 trillion.
Tourism is involved in food consumption and waste production as a global foodservice industry. Restaurants, fast food outlets, cafés, cafeterias, canteens, dining halls, and event catering fall under consumer food services.
From agricultural production to final consumption, food loss and waste can occur at any global food supply chain. Land conversion and habitat destruction, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, water and pesticide use are all related to food production. There is waste in each phase of the transport, storage, refining, and distribution stages during the post-harvest and processing stages. Final intake (including industrial and household) accounts for up to 40% of overall food waste at the end of the food value chain. According to evidence, food is mostly wasted at the final customer stage of the supply chain in developing countries.
The world is experiencing unprecedented population expansion, growing urbanisation, increased prosperity, and a scarcity of energy resources. Transfering food waste to energy machine can help free up a lot of landfill space while also providing fuel for our cars and heat for domestic uses.
Food waste and scarcity
According to recent research by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), around 78.3 million tonnes of fish harvested in the world's maritime fisheries are discarded each year.
Wasted! is an outstanding documentary starring prominent chefs and food industry experts who take an in-depth look at the origin of the problem, what we need to do to fix it and its true influence.
“Food systems have contracted as a result of Covid-19,” said Agnes Kalibata, the UN Secretary-special General's envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit. Food has also become more expensive and out of reach for a common man in some cases. As a result, this year's menu appears to be more difficult than last year's.”
Food waste management in the Hospitality industry
Food waste management is still one of the most pressing issues in the hospitality business. The thesis aims to identify the origins of food waste, both pre-consumer and post-consumer, and the impacts and challenges of cutting down on food waste on the scale of a hotel’s kitchen.
- The first step in ensuring that product shelf life is maximised is to handle properly since bruised or damaged fresh produce may result in excessive waste.
- Rather than pre-ordering in bulk, try to aim toward ‘just-in-time' delivery. This will help to keep storage expenses and deterioration to a minimum.
- Small and medium-sized food enterprises should conduct free audits to determine waste reduction opportunities.
- Food can be reused by conserving it to feed needy people or reproducing it into various items. Food that has been saved can also be fed to the animals, but certain safety restrictions apply, such as the requirement that leftovers from customers be processed before being used as animal feed.
- Composting for soil amendment, anaerobic digestion for energy, and rendering for tallow/meal are all options for recycling and can be effective food waste management solutions.
Anaerobic digestion is a closed system that ferments food and produces methane and carbon dioxide. Methane, which is used as an energy source, and residual solids, which can be utilised as a soil additive, are among the byproducts of this process.
6. It's also important to create awareness among hotel employees and staff. Because no single person can enhance the entire food waste management system, it is a process that necessitates the efforts and attention of the entire firm.
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