Changing behaviour to avoid food waste by raising awareness in the retail sector

According to the European Joint Research Service Service (JRC, 2023), 62% of food waste occurs at the consumer level and is responsible for more than 70% of the environmental impact of food waste, emphasising the need to focus on prevention measures in households. One reason for food waste in households has been identified as incorrect storage. Measures that impart appropriate knowledge about the correct storage of fruit and vegetables can therefore be expected to have a corresponding waste prevention potential. Food routines that encompass lifestyles and habits have great potential for minimising food waste. 46% of consumers would like information on how to handle food correctly/better and how to avoid food waste directly in retail outlets. As part of this project, awareness-raising measures for the correct storage of fruit and vegetables are therefore being developed, tested and evaluated directly at the point of sale for the first time in cooperation with the Austrian food retail chain Hofer KG as a project partner. Hofer customers are intensively involved in both the development and evaluation of the measures by means of interviews at the PoS and focus groups in advance.