Food serves as a foundation of human existence, while healthy dietary choices are a cornerstone of individual health. A significant amount of edible food is not consumed and consequently wasted within households globally. Minimising this avoidable food waste can foster more sustainable consumption patterns, aligning with the overarching goal of enhancing environmental sustainability. However, existing literature on this issue remains limited and fragmented. Using PRISMA guidelines, this review synthesises 22 eligible peer-reviewed English-language journal articles published up to March 2025, identified across five databases: Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Emerald Insight, and SpringerLink. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed with the MMAT. The review findings were summarised using descriptive analysis and narrative synthesis. Findings revealed four major themes: definitions and measurement of healthy food and food waste; influencing factors of food waste; intervention strategies; and the nexus among food waste, nutrition, and environmental health. The evidence indicates that healthy food selections can mitigate waste with proper management practices, may exacerbate waste with fresh perishables, and yield varying results depending on context. This review proposes a behavioural framework linking healthy food choices, purchasing decisions, and post-purchase food management practices to household food-waste outcomes. Future research should align national nutritional goals with global sustainability targets through healthy eating, whilst simultaneously reducing avoidable food waste. The study concludes with suggestions for behavioural nudges related to food purchasing and subsequent household food management, as well as circular-economy approaches, that hold promise for supporting both healthy food choices and reduced household food waste.

Household food waste is a significant economic, social, and environmental issue in many countries. Many initiatives have been undertaken to tackle this problem, but there is a lack of research analysing their effectiveness. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a household food waste intervention implemented by a local council in Australia. The study recruited residents from the Sydney Inner West Council area to participate in a series of workshops, an email newsletter campaign, and an online course addressing various aspects of reducing household food waste. A longitudinal analysis was performed using an online survey (n = 406) that measured food behaviours and self-reported food waste among participants in the intervention and control groups at three different time points. The sample mainly comprised middle-aged respondents (35–54 years), mostly women. The findings reveal that both groups reduced their food waste, although the intervention's causal effect did not differ significantly from that of the control group. Face-to-face workshops were more effective in reducing food waste than interventions that only shared information. Based on these findings, this study offers recommendations for practitioners to improve the design and delivery of future household food waste reduction interventions.

Consumer bread storage practices significantly affect the shelf life of bread, which is one of the most wasted food items in households. Addressing consumer bread waste is crucial for reducing overall food waste at home. However, despite the vital role of bread and bakery products in our diets, consumer behaviour regarding freezing bread has received limited attention. This research investigates the connection between bread-freezing habits and household bread waste based on a nationally representative sample of 2033 Australian households. Most households usually purchase white bread, followed by wholemeal bread. Approximately 27 % of respondents indicated that they freeze bread immediately after shopping, while most do not freeze or refrigerate it as the expiry date approaches. The likelihood of freezing bread rises significantly for those who buy larger quantities. Rural and isolated consumers are inclined to freeze bread right after shopping, while those not in the workforce are less inclined. The findings indicate that freezing bread at home effectively reduces bread waste.

Cultural norms, traditions and values shape household food waste behaviours, but this perspective has received little attention. This article investigates household food waste from a cultural perspective and proposes a novel cautious-engage-creative framework based on diverse cultural community values. We conducted 18 focus groups with 151 respondents. Seven culturally focused food behaviour profiles were identified, including two segments reported by previous research: health-conscious consumers and time-poor consumers. Some of our findings echo the existing literature confirming the link between household size, a lack of cooking skills, convenience-seeking behaviour and food waste. We contribute by presenting five additional segments, specifically comfort eaters, family meal organisers, feasters, novices and snack junkies. We suggest targeted interventions under the cautious-engage-creative framework based on dominant behaviour characteristics within a segment. The findings suggest that the 'cautious' approach involves never shopping hungry, using food lists and boxes, considering hybrid meal plans for guests and experimenting with small packs of new foods. The 'engage' strategy focuses on learning food management skills and engaging children in food-related discussions. The 'creative' approach involves making healthy meals, including strategies to manage cravings, buying bulk and freezing food. Practical suggestions outlined within the framework present actionable steps for reducing food waste.

Household food waste is an intractable policy issue because of its multi-faceted nature. Fruit and vegetable waste makes up the largest part of household waste. However, behaviours driving consumer fresh produce waste have been less explored. This study analyses behavioural and socio-demographic factors affecting household fruit and vegetable waste in Australia. It uses a nationally representative sample (n = 1462) that completed a 7-day electronic diary recording the amount of fruit and vegetable waste. The findings indicate that, on average, a household discards 35.2 kg of avoidable fruits and vegetables annually. A higher frequency of grocery shopping and purchases of takeaway is associated with higher waste, whilst higher use of a shopping list is associated with lower waste. Older adults, couples and women are more likely to experience a higher incidence of fruit and vegetable wastage at home. These findings are helpful when developing interventions to reduce the waste of fruits and vegetables in households.

Meal leftovers are a major component of household food waste. However, there is a limited understanding of leftover food management behaviours, which can assist in reducing food waste in household settings. This study segments households with distinctive behaviours associated with meal leftover management. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used for consumer segmentation. Data on meal leftovers and food management behaviours were collected using a national-level survey of 1728 Australian households. We identified two heterogenous groups of households regarding leftover meal management, 'Self-sufficient savers' (59% of the sample) and 'Na & iuml;ve discarders' (41% of the sample). The findings indicate that inefficient cooking and storing behaviours lead to cooked meals being discarded. 'Na & iuml;ve discarders' dispose of leftover meals either immediately or after storing them because they do not have sufficient cooking skills to repurpose leftovers or judge the safety of the food after storing them. They also lack meal-planning skills. In contrast, the 'Self-sufficient savers' demonstrated efficient cooking skills and storing behaviours. They read and followed the storage and meal portioning instructions. Results highlight the need for customised interventions targeting consumers with low cooking and storing knowledge to contribute towards overall food waste minimisation.

Purpose This study investigates heterogeneity in household leftover food management behaviour, offering insights into consumer motivations, abilities and opportunities. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 1,004 Australian households through an online survey. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to identify the best-fitting model for the collected data. Based on the items selected for the CFA model, a latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to classify households into distinct subgroups. Finally, a multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine the influence of sociodemographic variables on household latent class membership. Findings The analysis identified four distinct consumer segments. Efficient savers demonstrate strong skills in meal planning, food storage and repurposing leftovers. Unplanned eaters are characterised by limited skills in handling leftovers and low motivation to reduce leftover waste. Aspirational savers exhibit a desire to manage leftovers effectively but face occasional challenges, while time-savvy planners balance efficient food management with busy lifestyles. Sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender, employment and household composition, significantly influence class membership. Practical implications The findings emphasise the importance of targeted interventions, such as consumer education on meal planning, portion control, optimal food storage and leftover utilisation, to address specific behaviours within each segment. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by revealing the underlying heterogeneity within consumer groups that influences leftover food management. Gaining deeper insights into consumer behaviours related to food leftovers can empower policymakers and relevant government agencies to design targeted interventions to mitigate food waste.

Food leftovers are a major contributor to household food waste. However, the drivers of household food leftover management practices are less understood. This study analyses the leftover food management behaviour using the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability framework. A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis was used to empirically test the influence of motivation, opportunity, ability, and competing goals on self-reported leftover food management practices of Australian consumers. The results show consumers’ motivation is strongly associated with leftover food management practices. Particularly, consumers are motivated not to waste food because of negative feelings towards wasting food and understanding the consequences of leftover food waste. Consumer abilities in meal planning, efficient cooking, food inventory management, interpreting expiry dates, and food storage also significantly affected leftover food management in the home. The availability of time, information technology and lifestyle showed a relatively weaker impact on leftover food management. Competing goals of eating healthy, safe, and tasty food and having enough food lower the interest in leftover food management in the home. Understanding the drivers of leftover food management can guide designing interventions to promote behaviour change in preventing leftover waste.

Bread, the most consumed floury product in the world, is one of the most wasted food products across the food supply chain. Yet, there is a paucity of research examining the magnitude of bread waste and behavioural drivers associated with it at the household level. This study analyses the incidence, behavioural drivers and disposal pathways of bread waste using a sample of 1462 households in Australia and a 7-day electronic diary method. Behavioural drivers related to bread waste were modelled using logistic regression models. The findings suggest that bread rolls, sliced bread and flat bread are the three most wasted bread products in Australian households. Higher grocery shopping frequency, ‘just-in-case’ buying, family households with young children and takeaway meal ordering are associated with higher bread waste. Bread disposal pathway analysis revealed that 55% of bread and bakery products are discarded through general waste bins, highlighting the immense potential of utilising bread waste in industrial processes such as biofuel production. Addressing bread and bakery waste can significantly contribute to achieving the SDG12.3 goal of halving the per capita food waste by 2030.

The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of household food management routines on the amount of food waste. We build on past studies, many of which have used the theory of planned behavior to explain food waste, by incorporating actual food waste. The repetitive and routinised nature of diverse food management routines in the household leads to formation of habits, many of which play a major role in determining the amount of food waste. Using a large national level dataset (n = 4324), this paper applies a Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modelling framework to quantify the influence of food management routines on household food waste. Findings indicate that motivation and norms have a positive and statistically significant (at 1% level) influence on food planning behaviours which in turn contribute to reducing food waste. They also positively influence food storing behaviours. These results are useful for improving effectiveness of household food waste prevention interventions. The impact from highlighting social norms (such as saving planet, easing guilt, and doing the right thing) and motivation (such as saving time, money and educating children) will be enhanced when supported by complementary food management routines in the areas of planning (meal schedule and check stocks before shopping) and storing (extending product life by efficient storage in containers and/or fridge and freezer).

Food rescue has been identified as a sustainable approach in preventing wastage of surplus food and achieving food security. Although food insecurity is widely prevalent in developing countries, there is a paucity of research investigating food donations and rescue operations in these countries. This study focuses on surplus food redistribution activities from a developing country perspective. Specifically, the study analyses the structure, motivations, and limitations of the existing food rescue system in Colombo, Sri Lanka, by conducting a series of structured interviews with twenty food donors and redistributors. The food rescue system in Sri Lanka characterises a sporadic redistribution, and food donors and rescuers are mainly driven by humanitarian motives. The findings also reveal missing institutions — facilitator organisations and back-line organisations — in the surplus food rescue system. Food redistributors identified that inadequate food logistics and establishing formal partnerships as major challenges in food rescue operations. Establishing intermediary organisations such as food banks to provide the required food logistics, imposing food safety parameters and minimum quality standards required for surplus food redistribution, and community awareness programmes on food redistribution can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of food rescue operations. There is an urgent need to embed food rescue as a strategy to reduce food wastage and to enhance food security in existing policies.

Household food management behavior changed considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. A growing body of work has quantified the impact of lockdowns on household food waste. Yet, previous studies used a retrospective study design which undermines the accuracy of the causal effect on household food waste. This paper investigates the causal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on household food management and food waste using a natural experiment approach. Using two large national-scale longitudinal data sets (n = 8157), this study quantifies the impact of COVID-19 on food waste and food behavior of Australian households. Propensity score matching (PSM) was carried out to address potential endogeneity issues and to select control and treatment groups for analysis. Findings reveal that Australian households reduced food waste by 9% on average in 2020 (during COVID-19) compared to the pre-pandemic (2019) level. The use of a grocery list, discount purchases, and 'just-in-case' purchases, and food refrigeration have recorded a marked increase during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times. The changes to food management and food discard behavior during the pandemic offer important insights for behavior change campaigns to reduce household food waste. Interventions to sustain good food planning and storage practices and involving food retailers are promising entry points in addressing household food waste. The study also highlights the considerable challenge in achieving SDG 12.3 target by 2030.

The rapid growth of online grocery shopping can have significant economic, social and environmental implications. However, the influence of changing consumer food acquisition practices on household food waste has received less attention in the literature. Moreover, there is a dearth of household studies that account for zero values of self-reported food waste. Using a large national-level dataset (n = 5272) and a robust zero-inflated ordered probit modelling approach, this paper compares the influence of online grocery shopping and in-store grocery shopping behaviours on household food waste. Findings indicate that there is a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between online grocery shopping and household food waste. More frequent grocery shopping and higher grocery spending are associated with generating greater household food waste. Formulating strategies to help consumers to minimise food waste at home could provide a strategic competitive advantage for retailers.

Food waste is a significant global problem. In the Global North, households are a major driver of food waste generation and also a key enabler of solutions to address the issue. Leftover food management is identified as one of the key areas that can be targeted to reduce food waste at home. Although a large body of literature exists on household food waste and its drivers, managing food leftovers has received less attention. This state-of-the-art review focuses on leftover food management practices with the view of supporting practitioners in designing and prioritizing behavioral interventions to reduce leftover food waste in households. It uses the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to select articles for the review. Based on 42 primary studies, this systematic review identifies a range of psycho-social, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors influencing leftover food waste generation behavior at home. Moreover, household food handling skills and knowledge, and availability and accessibility to infrastructure facilities affect leftover food waste generation behavior. Based on the synthesized literature, Leftover Food Waste Generation Behavior (LFWGB) Framework has been developed. The framework conceptualizes psycho-social, personal and lifestyle factors driving leftover food management behaviors at home. Reducing food leftovers must be given top priority along with consumer meal planning and food preparation skills in household food waste reduction interventions and campaigns.

Maintaining productivity and technical efficiency of salinity affected rice farming is essential for food security in Bangladesh, given trends of increasing rates of salinity incursion. Using Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) data, collected by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and a translog stochastic production estimation approach, we estimated the differences in technical efficiency between saline and non-saline Boro rice producers. The findings indicate that, although mean efficiency of Boro rice producers in non-saline areas (83%) is higher than that of saline areas (73%), the pooled model suggests that saline farmers are more technically efficient compared with non-saline farmers. Despite this, the per hectare output (productivity) of Boro rice is significantly lower in saline areas (5479.3 kg) compared with non-saline areas (5880.5 kg). Moreover, saline area farmers use more irrigation and family labour to maintain Boro rice output, but more irrigation decreases marginal productivity because of salinity effects. Results also show that there are socio-economic differences between farmers in saline and non-saline areas. The implications of this study are that increased levels of salinity will reduce rice production, as variations in farming systems and technical efficiency are not sufficient to compensate for lost productivity.

Household food waste is a global problem that is often tackled by focusing on key behaviours leading to overall food waste. An important entry point to develop interventions is to understand food category-specific behavioural links to household food waste. However, there is a limited focus on this approach in the food waste literature. This paper examines various behavioural drivers influencing the wastage of six specific food categories - fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat and seafood, bakery, frozen foods, and packaged and pantry food. Using a large representative sample (n = 5272) and Tobit regression methods, it analyses the wastage of each food category and associated behavioural factors including food storing, shopping, disposal and food labelling. We find that the households’ perceptions on the safe consumption of food after the best before date has a significant negative association with all food waste categories. Fruit and vegetable waste is by far the largest food waste category in terms of food waste amount. Results also reveal that overprovisioning leads to more food waste in fruits and vegetables, dairy and frozen foods. Households’ preference to consume freshest possible food also results in more bread and bakery waste, and packaged and pantry food waste, than other food categories investigated. Food storage interventions offer the most promising entry point for reducing waste in the food categories analysed. The findings are useful when devising and prioritising food category based behavioural intervention strategies to reduce household food waste.

This paper analyses the impact of rate capping policy on local council efficiency. It also examines a set of exogenous factors associated with local government efficiency. A semi-parametric framework based on data envelopment analysis is applied to construct an efficient frontier for Victorian local governments. Findings indicate that rate capping policy had no significant effect on the overall economic efficiency of Victorian local governments. Furthermore, the policy appears to have an adverse effect on the efficiency of metropolitan councils during the study period. The heterogeneity of local governments needs to be considered when setting rate caps.

Household food waste measurement tools and practices vary considerably, and therefore, it is difficult to compare studies. An accurate measurement of food waste is pivotal to achieve national food waste reduction targets. Yet only a handful of studies have attempted to compare disparate household food measurement methods. This paper uses a large, national-scale dataset (n = 2885) to compare three commonly used food waste measurement methods: self-reported survey, self-reported electronic diary and a physical waste compositional analysis or bin audit. It quantifies the degree of underestimation between the selected methods. The findings indicate that both self-reported methods, survey and electronic diary underestimate household food waste in comparison to bin audit. The degree of underestimation between the electronic diary and bin audit ranged from 7% - 16%. The findings highlight the importance of paying attention to disposal routes included in the measurement and discrepancies in seemingly comparable methods.

The growing interest in customer engagement (CE) has triggered a new wave of reforms, particularly in utility regulation. Within the water sector, there has been a shift from a focus on cost-reflective pricing toward customer-centric pricing processes designed to identify customer preferences and expectations. The Victorian water sector in Australia offers a unique opportunity to explore the outcomes of these CE trends given the recent first-time application of a novel Performance, Risk, Engagement, Management, and Outcomes (PREMO) framework. Based on in-depth interviews with senior industry representatives from a diverse sample of Victorian water utilities, this paper critically analyses the scope, design, and incentive mechanisms that underpin the new regulatory process. Findings indicate that CE has potentially beneficial aspects to both the regulator and the regulated utility, including more transparency in capital projects and a better understanding of customer preferences in service delivery.

This study reports parents’ perceptions about children’s influence on the generation of household food by collecting qualitative data from 15 focus groups of Australian householders from five culturally diverse communities. Key findings include food over-purchase to some extent results from children applying pressure on their parents to impulse buy supermarkets promoted products, fussy eating behaviours, and frequently changing preferences. Children’s selective eating behaviours and preferences also cause food over-preparation and over-provisioning by parents. This study also identified that campaigns promoting imperfect shaped fruit and vegetables tend to be less effective with children as they desire perfect shaped fresh produce. We also identified that migrant communities tend to face the added complication of balancing traditional food for adults with their children requesting Australian foods. Our research presents policy implications in identifying children as quiet powerhouses in Australian households and suggests the need for targeted interventions to change children’s food behaviour. Additionally, parents need to mirror these interventions in their households to reinforce desired changes in their children’s food behaviours. There is also an opportunity for supermarkets, local councils and government agencies to redesign their marketing campaigns to educate children and parents about reducing food waste.