Hospital plate waste assessment after modifications in specific dishes of flexible and inflexible food ordering systems

Abstract

Previous studies on hospital food waste have focused on raising awareness among patients about this problem. The aim of the study was to quantify the food waste in a flexible and inflexible ordering system from a hospital located in the north of Spain in order to implement specific modifications to reduce the waste. The avoidable waste of 15 dishes was determined in the flexible (choice menu) and inflexible (basal diet) ordering system by weighing the avoidable waste from the same dish and diet by conglomerate. Milk, chicken and lunch fish generated more than 25% of plate waste and were classified as critical dishes, with the choice menu being the one that obtained the lowest percentages of waste. The implemented modifications in the case of milk (reducing the serving size) did not decrease the waste percentage. By contrast, the new chicken recipes and the increased fish variety in the inflexible ordering system decreased the plate waste in both dishes from 35.7% to 7.2% and from 29.5% to 12.8%, respectively. Identifying critical dishes, implementing actions to reduce the food waste and monitoring the progress are essential measures to decrease plate waste in hospitals.