Outrage over huge wastage

Average plate waste ranges from 143 to 41 grams

May 7: There has been a widespread outrage across the social media on Saturday over the issue of ‘ cooked food wastage’ in the society.

According to reports, the outrage was sparked as a large quantity of leftover food from an extravagant mass wedding in Bidiya was later dumped in a neighbourhood garbage bin.

“This type of wasting food is nothing but a criminal waste and should be penalised and condemned at all costs,” said several residents and citizens who felt there is a need for stricter regulations to stop such irresponsible acts.

According to a study by Esma Karim al Balushi, a student from the Department of Natural Resource Economics at SQU, on household food wastage in an Omani family, the average serving of food ranged from 250 to 600 gms for children and adults, respectively.

The average plate waste ranges from 143 to 41 gms for children and adults, respectively.

The highest percentage of food waste (57 per cent) was among the youngest one to five years and as would be expected the lowest (seven per cent) was among the adults over 40 years.

The average family plate waste was 35 per cent by weight.

As per information available with the Ministry of National Economy (2010), an average Omani family spends about RO 205 per month for food.

There would be food waste from what is purchased to what is cooked. Food being cooked has further costs of energy, labour etc.

If it is assumed that waste before cooking is zero and that the level of food waste at each meal is the same as estimated, an average Omani family would be wasting RO 70 per month as food waste.

The study added that education is one of the most effective and sustaining approaches to address the root cause of food waste, of changing the attitudes of people towards reducing food waste.

It is not just households even restaurants are forced to waste a large quantity of food everyday due to various issues, including healthy safety guidelines issued by local authorities.

“We have to dump all our cooked food every night and as per rules it cannot be given to the ‘needy’ or even to our employees,” said the manager of a popular restaurant chain. These rules are also applicable to bakery products prepared in supermarkets, said Francis, a former supermarket bakery supervisor.