Intention to Purchase Active and Intelligent Packaging to Reduce Household Food Waste: Evidence from Italian Consumers

US Consumers' Awareness, Purchase Intent, and Willingness to Pay for Packaging That Reduces Household Food Waste

Food waste is a barrier to the development of sustainable food systems, and a large portion of it occurs at the household level. Household food waste can be decreased by using appropriate packaging. Despite the high rate of food waste in US households, little is known about how packaging affects this. This study assessed US consumers' awareness of how structural packaging designs and technologies affect food freshness and their willingness to purchase and to pay extra for packaging designed to reduce household food waste. To gather data, 1000 US consumers were surveyed online. Responses were analyzed overall and by population segments. The impacts of only 3 out of 15 structural packaging designs on maintaining food freshness were known by >50% of consumers. Regarding packaging technologies, while 78% of consumers knew about the impact of vacuum packaging on maintaining food freshness, just 27.6, 23, and 16% knew how modified atmosphere packaging, active packaging, and aseptic packaging affected food freshness. Only 32% of consumers knew that intelligent packaging provides information on food freshness. Just 9% of consumers recognized that foods in plastic pouches and cans possess the same food freshness. Approximately 91% of consumers will always/sometimes buy food in most of the above packaging technologies after learning about them. Half were willing to pay more for food in packages that reduce household food waste, and 40% may. Differences (p ≤ 0.05) and two-way interactions were observed between population segments. This study's findings can help develop new packaging, education campaigns, and policies to reduce household food waste in the US.

A Review on the Challenges and Choices for Food Waste Valorization: Environmental and Economic Impacts

Valorization of food waste (FW) is instrumental for reducing the environmental and economic burden of FW and transitioning to a circular economy. The FW valorization process has widely been studied to produce various end-use products and summarize them; however, their economic, environmental, and social aspects are limited. This study synthesizes some of the valorization methods used for FW management and produces value-added products for various applications, and also discusses the technological advances and their environmental, economic, and social aspects. Globally, 1.3 billion tonnes of edible food is lost or wasted each year, during which about 3.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas is emitted. The environmental (-347 to 2969 kg CO₂ equiv/tonne FW) and economic (-100 to $138/tonne FW) impacts of FW depend on the multiple parameters of food chains and waste management systems. Although enormous efforts are underway to reduce FW as well as valorize unavoidable FW to reduce environmental and economic loss, it seems the transdisciplinary approach/initiative would be essential to minimize FW as well as abate the environmental impacts of FW. A joint effort from stakeholders is the key to reducing FW and the efficient and effective valorization of FW to improve its sustainability. However, any initiative in reducing food waste should consider a broader sustainability check to avoid risks to investment and the environment.

Intention to Purchase Milk Packaged in Biodegradable Packaging: Evidence from Italian Consumers

The dairy industry generates large volumes of liquid waste that can be used to produce biopolymers, potentially employable for the creation of milk biodegradable bottles. In that regard, this paper aims to explore the consumers' intention to purchase sustainable packages, as well as to assess the willingness to pay for it considering renewable packages made using organic waste feedstocks from the dairy industry (e.g., whey) and plant-based material (e.g., corn, sugarcane, etc.). To reach the stated objectives, we collected individual-level information (e.g., age, gender, education, income) from a convenient sample of 260 Italian consumers and a modified version of the Theory of Planned Behavior estimated using a structural equation model. Findings show that attitudes and perceived behavioral control are the most important drivers of the consumers' intention to purchase sustainable packages. Finally, statistics show that respondents slightly prefer to purchase products packaged using plant-based biodegradable material, as well as most of the respondents show a low willingness to pay for milk offered in biodegradable packaging, regardless of the raw material used. Then, policymakers and companies should invest in educational/informational campaigns pointing out the beneficial effects on the environment from the purchase of foods in sustainable packaging. This may potentially increase the consumers' intention to purchase, as well as their willingness to pay for plant-based and dairy whey-based packages by increasing the sustainability of the dairy supply chain.