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This data article describes 34 datasets, compiled into one table, describing guest attendance at lunch meal servings in Swedish public schools and preschools. Fifteen of the schools and all 16 of the preschools covered belong to one municipality, while the remaining three schools belong to two other municipalities, all located in central Sweden. Data on number of plates was used as a proxy of the number of guests eating lunch. Number of used plates was recorded from late August 2010 to early June 2020, i.e. covering the period both before and during the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, so that making possible to evaluate changes in guest attendance during the pandemic. Since these were real data, all data elements pertaining to exact canteens or staff identity have been removed. There is a scarcity of real business data for scientific and educational purposes, so these datasets can play an important role in research and education within catering management, consumption pattern analysis, machine learning, data mining and other fields.
Mattias Eriksson; Christopher Malefors; Luca Secondi; Stefano Marchetti. Guest attendance data from 34 Swedish pre-schools and primary schools. Data in Brief 2021, 36, 107138 .
AMA StyleMattias Eriksson, Christopher Malefors, Luca Secondi, Stefano Marchetti. Guest attendance data from 34 Swedish pre-schools and primary schools. Data in Brief. 2021; 36 ():107138.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMattias Eriksson; Christopher Malefors; Luca Secondi; Stefano Marchetti. 2021. "Guest attendance data from 34 Swedish pre-schools and primary schools." Data in Brief 36, no. : 107138.
To facilitate transition to a sustainable food system, it is necessary to address food losses. A large proportion of waste occurs during primary production, with large quantities of edible crop parts left in the field at harvest. One such product is broccoli, where normally only around one-third of the edible parts of the plant are harvested in Sweden. Much of the broccoli plant consists of edible leaves and this side stream represents an unused resource with great potential. This study assessed the potential environmental savings that can be achieved by utilising broccoli side streams as a powder in soups and bread. Consequential and attributional life cycle assessments were conducted, based on scenarios relevant for growers in southern Sweden. The results showed that the scenario with the largest saving potential was to process the broccoli side streams into a powder for use in broccoli soup. The main saving was due to substitution of imported broccoli powder, which was assumed to be produced from broccoli florets using a more fossil-based energy mix. The second best scenario was to use the side-stream broccoli powder as a wheat substitute in bread but, since wheat flour is less resource-demanding than imported broccoli powder, the emission savings were lower in this case. However, replacing wheat flour with a vegetable-based product could provide additional health benefits that are important in achieving a healthy, locally available, and environmentally friendly diet suitable for a sustainable food system.
Mattias Eriksson; Louise Bartek; Klara Löfkvist; Christopher Malefors; Marie Olsson. Environmental Assessment of Upgrading Horticultural Side Streams—The Case of Unharvested Broccoli Leaves. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5327 .
AMA StyleMattias Eriksson, Louise Bartek, Klara Löfkvist, Christopher Malefors, Marie Olsson. Environmental Assessment of Upgrading Horticultural Side Streams—The Case of Unharvested Broccoli Leaves. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (10):5327.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMattias Eriksson; Louise Bartek; Klara Löfkvist; Christopher Malefors; Marie Olsson. 2021. "Environmental Assessment of Upgrading Horticultural Side Streams—The Case of Unharvested Broccoli Leaves." Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5327.
Food waste is a significant problem within public catering establishments in any normal situation. During spring 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic placed the public catering system under greater pressure, revealing weaknesses within the system and generation of food waste due to rapidly changing consumption patterns. In times of crisis, it is especially important to conserve resources and allocate existing resources to areas where they can be of most use, but this poses significant challenges. This study evaluated the potential of a forecasting model to predict guest attendance during the start and throughout the pandemic. This was done by collecting data on guest attendance in Swedish school and preschool catering establishments before and during the pandemic, and using a machine learning approach to predict future guest attendance based on historical data. Comparison of various learning methods revealed that random forest produced more accurate forecasts than a simple artificial neural network, with conditional mean absolute prediction error of <0.15 for the trained dataset. Economic savings were obtained by forecasting compared with a no-plan scenario, supporting selection of the random forest approach for effective forecasting of meal planning. Overall, the results obtained using forecasting models for meal planning in times of crisis confirmed their usefulness. Continuous use can improve estimates for the test period, due to the agile and flexible nature of these models. This is particularly important when guest attendance is unpredictable, so that production planning can be optimized to reduce food waste and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient food system.
Christopher Malefors; Luca Secondi; Stefano Marchetti; Mattias Eriksson. Food waste reduction and economic savings in times of crisis: The potential of machine learning methods to plan guest attendance in Swedish public catering during the Covid-19 pandemic. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences 2021, 101041 .
AMA StyleChristopher Malefors, Luca Secondi, Stefano Marchetti, Mattias Eriksson. Food waste reduction and economic savings in times of crisis: The potential of machine learning methods to plan guest attendance in Swedish public catering during the Covid-19 pandemic. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. 2021; ():101041.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChristopher Malefors; Luca Secondi; Stefano Marchetti; Mattias Eriksson. 2021. "Food waste reduction and economic savings in times of crisis: The potential of machine learning methods to plan guest attendance in Swedish public catering during the Covid-19 pandemic." Socio-Economic Planning Sciences , no. : 101041.
Food waste is a significant problem within public catering establishments, caused mainly by serving waste arising from overcatering. Overcatering means that public catering establishments rarely run out of food but surplus ends up as food waste. The challenge is to find a solution that minimizes food waste while ensuring that sufficient food can be provided. A key element in this balancing act is to forecast accurately the number of meals needed and cook that amount. This study examined conventional forecasting methods (last-value forecasting, moving-average models) and more complex models (prophet model, neural network model) and calculated associated margins for all models. The best-performing model for each catering establishment was then used to evaluate the optimal number of portions based on stochastic inventory theory. Data used in the forecasting models are number of portions registered at 21 schools in the period 2010-2019. The past year was used for testing the models against real observations. The current business as usual scenario results in a mean average percentage error of 20-40%, whereas the best forecasting case around 2-3%. Irrespective of forecasting method, meal planning needed some safety margin in place for days when demand exceeded the forecast level. Conventional forecasting methods were simple to use and provided the best results in seven cases, but the neural network model performed best for 11 out of 21 kitchens studied. Forecasting can be one option on the road to achieve a more sustainable public catering sector.
Christopher Malefors; Ingrid Strid; Per-Anders Hansson; Mattias Eriksson. Potential for using guest attendance forecasting in Swedish public catering to reduce overcatering. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2020, 25, 162 -172.
AMA StyleChristopher Malefors, Ingrid Strid, Per-Anders Hansson, Mattias Eriksson. Potential for using guest attendance forecasting in Swedish public catering to reduce overcatering. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2020; 25 ():162-172.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChristopher Malefors; Ingrid Strid; Per-Anders Hansson; Mattias Eriksson. 2020. "Potential for using guest attendance forecasting in Swedish public catering to reduce overcatering." Sustainable Production and Consumption 25, no. : 162-172.
Lucia Korbelyiova; Christopher Malefors; Cecilia Lalander; Fredrik Wikström; Mattias Eriksson. Paper vs leaf: Carbon footprint of single-use plates made from renewable materials. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2020, 25, 77 -90.
AMA StyleLucia Korbelyiova, Christopher Malefors, Cecilia Lalander, Fredrik Wikström, Mattias Eriksson. Paper vs leaf: Carbon footprint of single-use plates made from renewable materials. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2020; 25 ():77-90.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLucia Korbelyiova; Christopher Malefors; Cecilia Lalander; Fredrik Wikström; Mattias Eriksson. 2020. "Paper vs leaf: Carbon footprint of single-use plates made from renewable materials." Sustainable Production and Consumption 25, no. : 77-90.
To move towards a sustainable food system, we cannot continue to waste substantial amounts of the food produced. This is especially true for later stages in the food supply chain, where most sub-processes consume resources in vain when food is wasted. Hospitals are located at the end of the food supply chain and the sector has high levels of food waste. This study investigated food waste quantification practices in Swedish hospitals, examined whether a questionnaire is an appropriate methodology for such mapping, and compiled data for the sector in order to determine the amount of food waste and its composition. A questionnaire was sent to all 21 regional authorities, formerly known as county councils, responsible for hospitals in Sweden. The questionnaire responses were supplemented with food waste records from three regions that organize the catering in a total of 20 hospitals. The results showed that it is common practice in most hospitals to quantify food waste, with quantification focusing on lunch and dinner in relation to the number of guests served. It was also clear that waste quantification practices have been established for years, and in the majority of the hospitals studied. The data revealed that, in comparison with other sectors, food waste was still high, 111 g guest−1 meal−1, consisting of 42% plate waste, 36% serving waste, and 22% kitchen waste. However, there was great variation between hospitals, which, in combination with well-established, standardized waste quantification routines, meaning that this sector has strong potential to spread best practices and improve overall performance in reducing food waste generation.
Mattias Eriksson; Christopher Malefors; Pauline Bergström; Emelie Eriksson; Christine Persson Osowski. Quantities and Quantification Methodologies of Food Waste in Swedish Hospitals. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3116 .
AMA StyleMattias Eriksson, Christopher Malefors, Pauline Bergström, Emelie Eriksson, Christine Persson Osowski. Quantities and Quantification Methodologies of Food Waste in Swedish Hospitals. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (8):3116.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMattias Eriksson; Christopher Malefors; Pauline Bergström; Emelie Eriksson; Christine Persson Osowski. 2020. "Quantities and Quantification Methodologies of Food Waste in Swedish Hospitals." Sustainability 12, no. 8: 3116.
Food banks that redistribute surplus food from retailers and the food industry to people in need are not a new concept globally, but their connection to food waste prevention is new. As a result, new types of food redistribution units are emerging and diversifying to find new target groups and distribution methods. The aim of this study was to identify and study surplus food redistribution units in Sweden, and then to assess the impact on several sustainability indicators for selected redistribution units, in order to increase knowledge on the types of values these redistribution concepts generate. The methods used for analyzing the scenarios were Environmental Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing and Social Life Cycle Assessment. The results showed that providing food bags to socially exposed people generated the largest reduction of greenhouse gas emissions per kg of redistributed food (−1.2 kg CO2 eq./FU). Reprocessing surplus food to a high-quality end-product was attributed a high social value, due to job creation effects in the high number of working hours required per kg of redistributed food. With regard to economic impacts, all but two scenarios studied had monthly financial losses, and therefore needed other sources of financial support.
Pauline Bergström; Christopher Malefors; Ingrid Strid; Ole Jørgen Hanssen; Mattias Eriksson. Sustainability Assessment of Food Redistribution Initiatives in Sweden. Resources 2020, 9, 27 .
AMA StylePauline Bergström, Christopher Malefors, Ingrid Strid, Ole Jørgen Hanssen, Mattias Eriksson. Sustainability Assessment of Food Redistribution Initiatives in Sweden. Resources. 2020; 9 (3):27.
Chicago/Turabian StylePauline Bergström; Christopher Malefors; Ingrid Strid; Ole Jørgen Hanssen; Mattias Eriksson. 2020. "Sustainability Assessment of Food Redistribution Initiatives in Sweden." Resources 9, no. 3: 27.
One innovation developed to tackle food waste in professional catering units is different versions of smart scales and softwares designed to simplify food waste quantification. The intention with this is to managing meal production more efficiently based on previous outcomes. However, quantification can be performed in different ways and having a catering unit quantify its food waste does not necessarily guarantee a reduction. Therefore this study sought to identify factors that could make food waste quantification more efficient in terms of waste reduction, and to determine the waste reduction payoff from more ambitious quantification set-ups. Data on 735 hotels, restaurants, and canteens in Europe, especially Sweden and Norway, that use a spreadsheet, a dedicated scale, or an internet-based service to track food waste were analyzed and parameters describing initial waste, number of guests and length, resolution, and completeness of quantification were determined. These parameters were then compared against the waste reduction achieved, in order to test their influence. It was found that 61% of the catering units studied had reduced their waste and that initial mass of waste per guest was the most influential factor for waste reduction. Catering units using more automated quantification tools recorded more data and reduced their food waste by slightly more, but also had a higher level of initial waste and therefore a greater opportunity for reduction. From this, it can be concluded that prioritizing catering units with the greatest waste volume could be an efficient strategy to reduce overall food waste in the most cost-efficient way.
Mattias Eriksson; Christopher Malefors; Pieter Callewaert; Hanna Hartikainen; Oona Pietiläinen; Ingrid Strid. What gets measured gets managed – Or does it? Connection between food waste quantification and food waste reduction in the hospitality sector. Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X 2019, 4, 100021 .
AMA StyleMattias Eriksson, Christopher Malefors, Pieter Callewaert, Hanna Hartikainen, Oona Pietiläinen, Ingrid Strid. What gets measured gets managed – Or does it? Connection between food waste quantification and food waste reduction in the hospitality sector. Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X. 2019; 4 ():100021.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMattias Eriksson; Christopher Malefors; Pieter Callewaert; Hanna Hartikainen; Oona Pietiläinen; Ingrid Strid. 2019. "What gets measured gets managed – Or does it? Connection between food waste quantification and food waste reduction in the hospitality sector." Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X 4, no. : 100021.
There is an urgent need for primary data collection on food waste to obtain solid quantification data that can be used as an indicator in the goal of halving food waste by 2030. This study examined how quality baselines for food waste can be achieved within the different segments of the hospitality sector, encompassing establishments such as canteens, elderly care units, hospitals, hotels, preschools, primary schools, restaurants, and upper secondary schools. The empirical material comprised food-waste quantification data measured in 1189 kitchens in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Germany for 58,812 quantification days and 23 million portions. All the data were converted to a common format for analysis. According to the findings, around 20% of food served became waste. Waste per portion varied widely between establishments, ranging from 50.1 ± 9.4 g/portion for canteens to 192 ± 30 g/portion for restaurants. To identify the measurement precision needed for tracking changes over time, we suggest statistical measures that could be used in future studies or in different food-waste tracking initiatives.
Christopher Malefors; Pieter Callewaert; Per-Anders Hansson; Hanna Hartikainen; Oona Pietiläinen; Ingrid Strid; Christina Strotmann; Mattias Eriksson. Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3541 .
AMA StyleChristopher Malefors, Pieter Callewaert, Per-Anders Hansson, Hanna Hartikainen, Oona Pietiläinen, Ingrid Strid, Christina Strotmann, Mattias Eriksson. Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (13):3541.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChristopher Malefors; Pieter Callewaert; Per-Anders Hansson; Hanna Hartikainen; Oona Pietiläinen; Ingrid Strid; Christina Strotmann; Mattias Eriksson. 2019. "Towards a Baseline for Food-Waste Quantification in the Hospitality Sector—Quantities and Data Processing Criteria." Sustainability 11, no. 13: 3541.
Public sector food service is a major contributor to food waste generation in Sweden, with schools, pre-schools, elderly care homes, hospitals etc., producing approximately 70,000 tons of food waste each year. Sweden has appropriate infrastructure for handling food waste in place, recycling nutrients and energy, but there is still great potential to move upwards in the waste hierarchy and prevent waste. An important step in designing waste reduction measures is to identify and quantify the importance of different risk factors, in order to start by solving the problems with the greatest potential benefit and the lowest cost. This study sought to identify and quantify risk factors for food waste generation in public sector canteens by correlation analyses and statistical modelling. The empirical material comprised food waste quantification data for 177 kitchens in the Swedish municipalities of Falun, Malmö, Sala, Uppsala and Örebro, supplemented with quantifiable information about the kitchens obtained using a questionnaire. According to the findings, plate waste in schools and pre-schools increases with children's age. Schools with older children could potentially reduce plate waste by introducing more structured lunch breaks. Plate waste also increases with dining hall capacity, potentially due to rising stress and noise levels. Both plate waste and serving waste increase with greater overproduction, as indicated by calculated portion size, and could be reduced by schools and pre-schools estimating their daily number of diners and their diners' food intake more accurately. As serving waste was significantly higher in satellite units (which bring in cooked food), due to lack of cooling and storage possibilities, than in production units (which cook, serve and sometimes deliver hot food), satellite units in particular would benefit from more accurate quantification of the food required on a daily basis. These findings were confirmed by multiple linear regression models, which explained >85% of the variation in plate, serving and total waste per portion. When used for quantification after changing the value of different factors, these models confirmed that the main factors influencing serving waste and total waste per portion were type of kitchen and rate of overproduction, while plate waste was mainly influenced by children's age and factors indicating a stressful dining environment.
Hjördis Steen; Christopher Malefors; Elin Röös; Mattias Eriksson. Identification and modelling of risk factors for food waste generation in school and pre-school catering units. Waste Management 2018, 77, 172 -184.
AMA StyleHjördis Steen, Christopher Malefors, Elin Röös, Mattias Eriksson. Identification and modelling of risk factors for food waste generation in school and pre-school catering units. Waste Management. 2018; 77 ():172-184.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHjördis Steen; Christopher Malefors; Elin Röös; Mattias Eriksson. 2018. "Identification and modelling of risk factors for food waste generation in school and pre-school catering units." Waste Management 77, no. : 172-184.
Mattias Eriksson; Christine Persson Osowski; Jesper Björkman; Emma Hansson; Christopher Malefors; Emelie Eriksson; Ranjan Ghosh. The tree structure — A general framework for food waste quantification in food services. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2018, 130, 140 -151.
AMA StyleMattias Eriksson, Christine Persson Osowski, Jesper Björkman, Emma Hansson, Christopher Malefors, Emelie Eriksson, Ranjan Ghosh. The tree structure — A general framework for food waste quantification in food services. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2018; 130 ():140-151.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMattias Eriksson; Christine Persson Osowski; Jesper Björkman; Emma Hansson; Christopher Malefors; Emelie Eriksson; Ranjan Ghosh. 2018. "The tree structure — A general framework for food waste quantification in food services." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 130, no. : 140-151.
Food waste is a major problem that must be reduced in order to achieve a sustainable food supply chain. Since food waste valorisation measures, like energy recovery, have limited possibilities to fully recover the resources invested in food production, there is a need to prevent food waste. Prevention is most important at the end of the value chain, where the largest number of sub-processes have already taken place and occur in vain if the food is not used for its intended purpose, i.e. consumption. Catering facilities and households are at the very end of the food supply chain, and in Sweden the public catering sector serves a large number of meals through municipal organisations, including schools, preschools and elderly care homes. Since the first step in waste reduction is to establish a baseline measurement in order to identify problems, this study sought to quantify food waste in schools, preschools and elderly care homes in one municipality in Sweden. The quantification was conducted during three months, spread out over three semesters, and was performed in all 30 public kitchen units in the municipality of Sala. The kitchen staff used kitchen scales to quantify the mass of wasted and served food divided into serving waste (with sub-categories), plate waste and other food waste. The food waste level was quantified as 75g of food waste per portion served, or 23% of the mass of food served. However, there was great variation between kitchens, with the waste level ranging from 33g waste per portion served (13%) to 131g waste per portion served (34%). Wasted food consisted of 64% serving waste, 33% plate waste and 3% other food waste. Preschools had a lower waste level than schools, possibly due to preschool carers eating together with the children. Kitchens that received warm food prepared in another kitchen (satellite kitchens) had a 42% higher waste level than kitchens preparing all food themselves (production units), possibly due to the latter having higher flexibility in cooking the right amount of food and being able to chill and save surplus food. The large variation between kitchens indicates that they have different causes of food waste, but also different opportunities to reduce it. Detailed waste quantification for each kitchen can therefore be the first step in the process of waste reduction.
Mattias Eriksson; Christine Persson Osowski; Christopher Malefors; Jesper Björkman; Emelie Eriksson. Quantification of food waste in public catering services – A case study from a Swedish municipality. Waste Management 2017, 61, 415 -422.
AMA StyleMattias Eriksson, Christine Persson Osowski, Christopher Malefors, Jesper Björkman, Emelie Eriksson. Quantification of food waste in public catering services – A case study from a Swedish municipality. Waste Management. 2017; 61 ():415-422.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMattias Eriksson; Christine Persson Osowski; Christopher Malefors; Jesper Björkman; Emelie Eriksson. 2017. "Quantification of food waste in public catering services – A case study from a Swedish municipality." Waste Management 61, no. : 415-422.