Assessment of household food waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia: a cross-sectional online survey

The Serbian government has taken several measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These measures may have led to a disruption of daily life and affected food-related behaviors. This paper investigates the state of food waste management in Serbia and COVID-19's direct effect on consumer awareness, food consumption, and food waste behaviors. The study is based on an online survey using a structured questionnaire administered in Serbian from May 13 until June 13, 2020, through the Google forms platform. A total of 1212 valid answers were collected, mainly from female, young, and high-educated people. The survey results suggested that (i) household food waste in Serbia is low and there is a positive attitude toward food waste prevention; (ii) food waste increased during the COVID-19 pandemic; (iii) consumers reduced the number of shopping trips and shopped more than usual during the pandemic. This study contributes to a better understanding of consumers' consumption habits and attitudes toward food waste to prevent and reduce it.

Automated summary

The study found that in Serbia, household food waste is low, and there is a positive attitude towards preventing it. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, food waste increased as consumers reduced shopping trips but bought more food than usual. This research contributes to a better understanding of consumer habits and attitudes towards food waste in order to prevent and reduce it.