# A Review of Empirical Applications on Food Waste Prevention & Management

**Authors:** Ahmed Fadhil  
**arXiv:** [1803.05986](https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.05986)  
**Date:** 2018-03-12  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/1803.05986v1/

## Key points

- Food waste has significant economic, environmental, and social impacts
- Researchers in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) have explored ways to manage surplus food waste throughout its lifecycle
- A research survey investigates the effectiveness of existing approaches in food waste management with four objectives:
- Identify methods in food waste management
- Determine their area of focus
- Analyze the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) techniques they apply
- Assess the food waste lifecycle they target
- The study analyzes whether these applications provide an open access API for data analysis as well as measures for user adoption, awareness and knowledge needs, engagement and attitude towards behavior change.
- The study assesses whether these applications focus on preventing rather than just managing food waste by using persuasive techniques to motivate users.
- Various promotional applications such as Leloca, Cheetah, Breading etc., that focus on reducing food wastage at different stages of its lifecycle are identified.
- Pros and cons with respect to applications in food waste management are highlighted.
- It is essential to continue exploring innovative solutions that can help address this critical issue.

## Summary

Food waste is a major issue with significant economic, environmental, and social impacts. To address this critical issue, researchers in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) have explored ways to manage surplus food waste throughout its lifecycle - from agricultural production to post-harvest handling and storage, processing, distribution, and consumption. This paper presents a research survey that investigates the effectiveness of existing approaches in food waste management. The objectives of the survey are fourfold: 1) to identify methods in food waste management; 2) to determine their area of focus; 3) to analyze the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) techniques they apply; and 4) to assess the food waste lifecycle they target. Additionally, the authors analyze whether these applications provide an open access API for data analysis as well as measures for user adoption, awareness and knowledge needs, engagement and attitude towards behavior change. They also assess whether these applications focus on preventing rather than just managing food waste by using persuasive techniques to motivate users. The study identifies various promotional applications such as Leloca, Cheetah, Breading etc., that focus on reducing food wastage at different stages of its lifecycle. In conclusion, this research highlights both pros and cons with respect to applications in food waste management. It is essential to continue exploring innovative solutions that can help address this critical issue.