AN EXPLORATION OF FOOD WASTE MANAGEMENT ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR: PICK N' PAY FOOD WASTE REDUCTION STUDY

Abstract

Due to its detrimental effects on things like food security, natural resources, and climate change, to mention a few, food waste is still a problem on a global scale. The majority of food waste statistics are based on estimates throughout the whole food supply chain. The retail grocery industry is in a crucial position to influence waste reduction and help South Africa reach its Sustainable Development Goal of halving global food waste by 2030. With Pick n Pay grocery store as a case study, this research aims to explore how food waste is addressed in the retail sector, and in addition to compare how France implements their program to reduce food waste. This study will examine attitudes and behavior in South African households and the retail sector, and also look into the causes of food waste at the household level as well as specific consumer behavior factors. The retail sector is one of the supply chain partners with a data and knowledge gap on the amounts of food waste produced and the main causes, and this proof is needed to design culturally tailored and localized consumer education programs. Additionally, this study will look into how social media usage affects people's choices towards food waste prevention in Pretoria households and retail settings like Pick n Pay. For this research, online survey methods will be used to collect qualitative data, and the evaluation of prior literature on related subjects will also help with data collection. Using search terms like "food waste," "food waste from the retail sector," "food waste from South African retailers," "food waste management," "food waste reduction opportunities," and so on, similar studies will be found that are based on a review of national and international published literature. Based on survey responses, this research discovered that dairy and meat were the food items that were most frequently wasted, followed by produce like vegetables and cooking oil. These findings are consistent with those of other studies. Pick n Pay has suggested sustainable living, charitable giving, and social 4 media awareness as ways to minimize and reduce food waste. These results relate to findings from studies carried out both locally and internationally and are not limited to this study.