Análise de sobras e restos alimentares em unidades de alimentação e nutrição institucionais com e sem intervenções do nutricionista

Abstract

The waste of food causes numerous damages, not only economically but also by overburdening waste management on a global scale. Institutional food and nutrition units are major generators of food waste, highlighting the importance of the nutritionist in waste reduction and the implementation of sustainable actions. The aim of this study was to analyze leftovers and food waste in the meal distribution process in institutional food and nutrition units with and without nutritionist intervention. An integrative literature review was conducted on scientific databases using keywords from the Health Sciences Descriptors. Fourteen articles published between 2018 and 2023 were selected, written in Portuguese, original, quantitative, and conducted in institutional units with a healthy community. It was found that actions carried out through awareness campaigns for diners contributed to the reduction of food waste, classifying units with normal or regular production of organic waste, as demonstrated by percentage and per capita records of leftovers. Conversely, the recorded values of the percentage of clean leftovers in studies that did not conduct campaigns were considered unacceptable according to the literature, suggesting flaws in meal planning. It is concluded that, in addition to awareness campaigns and records of food waste quantities, the nutritionist's monitoring of the meal planning and production process, combined with staff training, can be allies in reducing food waste, thus contributing to sustainability.