Food Literacy in the Context of Food Circularity: A Scoping Review

Food literacy may inform participation in circular food practices, but evidence connecting these concepts is dispersed across distinct research traditions. This scoping review mapped the extent, characteristics, conceptualization, measurement, and application of food literacy in relation to food circularity. Following JBI methodology and PRISMA-ScR guidance, four databases were searched from inception to 21 August 2026; the protocol was prospectively registered on OSF (10.17605/OSF.IO/Y4UEG). Sixty-five reports representing 64 unique study units were included. Food loss and waste prevention appeared in 62 study units (96.9%), a proportion describing the retrieved corpus rather than the field as a whole. The term food literacy was used explicitly in 40 study units (62.5%), but 42 (65.6%) provided no definition. Educational, communication, or behavioral strategies were identified in 22 units, including 18 evaluated interventions, only five of which included a concurrent comparator. Coding of literacy dimensions alongside circularity pathways identified descriptive co-occurrences, not tested competency requirements. The evidence was conceptually and methodologically heterogeneous and unevenly distributed across strategies and settings. More consistent conceptualization, design-sensitive reporting of intervention outcomes, and broader evidence identification are needed.