Development of a Total Quality Management tool integrating sustainability practices to address food waste : a case in a University food service unit

Abstract

The issue of food waste has gained increasing attention worldwide with growing concern for its environmental, social and economic impact. The volume of food waste generated is alarming, with university food service operations around the world generating a million tonnes of food waste annually. In the context of South African university food service units, research demonstrated that a significant amount of food is wasted. Given the magnitude of the problem of food waste and its associated impact, the current study investigated the causes of food waste in the university food service system, and developed and validated a total quality management (TQM) tool integrating sustainability practices to address food waste. The systems theory was applied to address the issue of food waste holistically. The study further applied the food waste hierarchy framework and adopted ‘prevention’ which is the most favourable and environmentally sound food waste management option. The environmental dimension of the triple bottom line framework of sustainability was also incorporated in the theoretical framework of the study with the interest to consider environmentally friendly strategies. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a multiphase-mixed methods design comprising three phases (predevelopment, developmental and validation) was employed. In the first phase of the study, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to explore and conceptualise dimensions and indicators of TQM and sustainability practices that prevented food waste. A qualitative case study approach was applied in the second phase in order to investigate the causes of food waste and to gain a deeper understanding of the dimensions and indicators of TQM and sustainability practices that prevented food waste in the specific context of the University food service units. The data collection in this phase involved the integration of four different techniques including document analysis, face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation. In the third (validation) phase, two iterations of a modified Delphi technique were employed to validate the tool developed to address food waste.

The findings of the study indicated that the inputs, activities in the functional subsystems, management functions, linking processes, outputs, memory, feedback and environmental factors had an influence on food waste. The findings further demonstrated the importance of the TQM approach as a control element contributing to food waste prevention. The TQM practices revealed as important in preventing food waste are quality practices of management, customer focus, employee management and involvement, process quality management, employee knowledge and education, supplier quality management, information and analysis and process and product quality design. A total of 114 indicators of TQM practices were validated as contributing to food waste prevention. The study demonstrated the importance of food-focused sustainable practices, and five indicators of sustainability were validated as important in preventing food waste. The findings of the study contribute to the literature, methodology and have practical implications for University food service operations. The TQM tool integrating sustainability practices developed in this study can be applied in the different parts of the food service system to prevent food waste. The application of the tool can thus benefit the food service units economically, socially and environmentally. Further research is recommended to empirically test the reliability and validity of the tool in practice.