Quantification of food waste within food service in the historic centre of Naples: A case study

The world scenario on human nutrition nowadays is a huge paradox. From one side, millions of undernourished people. On the other, tons of food are wasted every year. Throughout the whole food chain, wastes or losses are a modern issue. Albeit a growing scientific interest, literature lacks precise estimates that identify the actual composition and basic characteristics of the food waste from a business owner point of view. Therefore, this work tries to estimate the quantity and quality of the food wasted in the Historic Centre of Naples, Italy, via a self-report questionnaire, involving directly food service owners. Results show an amount of more than 7000 quintals of food wasted every year, of which more than 70% is represented by finished products unsold, even being potentially exploitable through a food re-use that, according to interviews, is perceived difficult in terms of both execution and management.