SCHOOLS FOOD WASTE AUDIT AS THE CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL MEALS

Abstract

Introduction. The problem of low satisfaction with school meals leads to nutrient deficiency in children and increases the burden on the economy and environment of regions and municipalities. To understand the causes of waste and find management solutions to improve the quality of food, it is advisable to apply experience in assessing food waste, using it both as a pedagogical activity and as a source of management data in the context of suppliers, menus, dishes and products, and the organization of serving dishes. This paper aims to review the experience of auditing food waste, including in school canteens. Among the materials for the study, publications of mainly foreign authors were used, since in the Russian database the topic of auditing (assessment) of food waste in school canteens is represented by only one work. Part of the materials from a sociological survey conducted in May 2024 in the Republic of Bashkortostan on satisfaction with school meals is also used.
Materials and methods. As a result of the analysis of the accumulated experience of food waste audits and approaches to waste minimization, an algorithm for conducting an audit is proposed, which may have different goals depending on who conducts it. We believe that if the food is well prepared, there should be minimal waste. An audit of food waste can be part of a school nutrition monitoring system and is a logical continuation of previously conducted research. There may be several reasons for food not being eaten in canteens, and obtaining answers from children at the moment of throwing away leftover food about the reason for refusing to eat will allow taking measures in response to each reason, starting with the most common one. It is substantiated that the most feasible audit option may be to conduct it by the parent community with direct support from schools, since every eighth parent in rural areas, and every seventh in cities, is ready to participate in a procedure that will give them more accurate and complete information about nutrition children and an effective tool in the task of changing children’s nutrition at school.
Acknowledgements. The study was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Center for the Study of Social Development of the Region of the Institute of Strategic Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Bashkortostan for 2024.