Food waste management practices in restaurants: how to prevent and reduce food waste?

Restaurants produce significant food waste, which has major negative environmental, social, and economic impacts. Therefore, the prevention and reduction of food waste in restaurants needs to be planned, using appropriate management practices for the different stages of the process. The review will increase the understanding of food waste prevention and reduction, the stages of the management process, and the management practices involved. The results show that management practices are particularly related to menu planning, sourcing, preparation, serving, and customer service. In addition, the review identifies systematic management as an essential element in preventing food waste. However, achieving the objectives set will require raising the level of skills and integrating circular economy thinking into management practices. The suitability of management practices also depends on the geographical context, which is why more research on this topic is needed in Finnish restaurants.