Food consumption behavior towards food wastage minimization among university students

Food wastage represents a growing worldwide concern accounting for more than 1.3 billion tons of food not destined to human feed, in particular in developed countries. In Europe, more than 88 million tons of food does not reach the consumer, recording more than 140 billion euro lost each year. Such phenomenon occurs along the whole food supply chain from agricultural to consumption stage. It is estimated that the last one is responsible of the highest percentage of food loss and waste mainly at households and HoReCa (Hotellerie, Restaurant, Café/Catering) level. The present paper, through a structured interview among students attending the Department of Economics, Management and Business Law of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, will investigate their main food consumption behaviors with the final aim to find answers to why, when and what kind of food students waste. Based on the results obtained, the authors investigate their main food consumption behaviors improving the knowledge on food wastage phenomenon, enlarging the possibility to find solutions towards its minimization and support local environmental policies.