INTRODUCTION:

In Portugal, about 1 million tons of food are wasted annually. The evaluation of food waste in schools plays an important role in food education, from a nutritional, social and ethical perspective, and it must be carried out routinely and as a way of raising awareness of the theme. Food waste contributes to an inadequate nutritional supply, which is why their evaluation is of high importance.

OBJECTIVES:

To compare the assessment of food waste in a school canteen in higher education through the application of three methodologies, as well as to quantify food waste by component of the meal.

METHODOLOGY:

The assessment of food waste was carried out at lunch and dinner meals on a randomly chosen day. Weighing methods by aggregate components, component weighing per plate and visual analysis by photographic portrait were used. A sample of 52 meals was used in the dish-by-dish analysis methods.

RESULTS:

In the weighing method by component in the dish, 20.5% of waste was obtained. In the method of weighing by aggregate components, a waste of 18,9% was measured. Regarding the method of visual analysis of waste by photographic portrait, it is concluded that about 55.8% of the meals served had 0% waste.

CONCLUSIONS:

There was a poor agreement between the results evaluated by the methodologies by aggregate weighing and weighing by component in the dish, verifying an apparent overestimation of the index of remains observed by the weighing method in the dish. On the other hand, the methodology of visual analysis by photographic portrait constitutes a less conclusive form of analysis, because, according to this method, about half of the meal did not originate remains. Thus, it is concluded that the method for weighing components in the dish, by sampling, should not be used as a routine methodology in the assessment of waste, opting for the aggregate component assessment.

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