Fuente: Foods - Revista científica (MDPI) Foods, Vol. 15, Pages 696: An Analysis of Food Waste Production and Behavioural Patterns Among Generation Z in Five European Countries
Foods doi: 10.3390/foods15040696
Authors:
Neven Voća
Francesco Donsi
Mirela Alina Sandu
Viktoria Voronova
Jana Šic Žlabur
Giovanni De Feo
Ana Virsta
Marija Klõga
Jelena Lubura Stošić
Anamarija Peter
Gina Vasile Scăețeanu
Sanja Ostojić
Ivan Brandić
Gianpiero Pataro
Dario Balaban
Darko Micić
Jona Šurić
Saša Đurović
Alessandra Procentese
Lato Pezo

Food waste remains a global challenge, particularly among younger generations. This study examines the attitudes and behaviours of 330 Generation Z individuals (aged 18–24 years) from Italy, Estonia, Croatia, Romania, and Serbia using an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The TPB model was expanded to include moral social values, awareness of health risks, and good provider identity. A mixed-methods approach was applied, combining 7-day food waste diaries, visual plate-waste analysis, and self-administered questionnaires. Food recognition analysis showed that Estonian participants wasted less food per meal (3.43%) than those from Italy, Serbia, Croatia, and Romania (12.53%, 12.57%, 14.53%, and 17.18%). Nationality-specific patterns emerged: Romanians mainly discarded meat and potatoes, while participants from Estonia, Croatia, and Serbia wasted fruit and vegetables; Italians most frequently wasted fish and dairy. The extended TPB effectively predicted intentions to reduce food waste, identifying key behavioural determinants that can inform targeted interventions for young consumers.