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Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on household food waste behaviour: A systematic review

Iranmanesh M 1 , Ghobakhloo M 2 , Nilashi M 3 , Tseng ML 4 , Senali MG 5 , Abbasi GA 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia. Electronic address: m.iranmanesh@ecu.edu.au
  • 2 School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania; Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Electronic address: morteza.ghobakhloo@ktu.lt
  • 3 UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, No. 1 Jalan Menara Gading, UCSI Height, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: nilashidotnet@hotmail.com
  • 4 Institute of Innovation and Circular Economy, Asia University, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taiwan; University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia. Electronic address: tsengminglang@asia.edu.tw
  • 5 School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia. Electronic address: smadugod@our.ecu.edu.au
  • 6 Management and Marketing Department, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: ghazanfar.abbasi@hotmail.co.uk
Appetite, 2022 Sep 01;176:106127.
PMID: 35714820 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106127

Abstract

Food waste has adverse economic, social, and environmental impacts and increases the prevalence of food insecurity. Panic buying at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak raised serious concerns about a potential rise in food waste levels and higher pressure on waste management systems. This article aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on food waste behaviour and the extent to which it occurs using the systematic review method. A total of 38 articles were identified and reviewed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The findings showed that the COVID-19 pandemic led to reductions in household food waste in most countries. Several changes in shopping and cooking behaviours, food consumption, and managing inventory and leftovers have occurred due to COVID-19. Based on these insights, we predicted that some desirable food-management habits would be retained, and others would roll back in the post-COVID-19 world. The review contributes to the food waste literature by offering a comprehensive overview of behavioural changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and future research directions.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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