Department of Community Public Health, School of Public Health, Walailak University, Tha Sala, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
Food Technology and Innovation Research Center of Excellence, Walailak University, Tha Sala, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
J Nutr Sci. 2022 May 12;11:e35. doi: 10.1017/jns.2022.31. eCollection 2022.
Food waste globally affects food security and sustainability. There currently are few studies focusing on food waste in schools. The present study aimed to determine the meal quality and plate waste in school lunch programme in Thailand. This cross-sectional study was conducted in canteens of representing kindergarten and elementary schools in Southern Thailand within their real-life context. The assessment was carried out over five consecutive school days in July–August 2020 for each school, at which two types of menus, including rice with side dish and one-dish meal were served. Waste collection and quantification were conducted by selective aggregate weighing, according to the Food Loss and Waste Protocol. All lunch menus contained excess rice but insufficient meats, fruits, vegetables and eggs, regarding the national lunch standard. For each serving portion, 7–33 % rice, 9–22 % meats, 7–65 % vegetables, 1–19 % fruits and 3–14 % eggs were discarded. Plate waste from rice with side dish menus (10–29 %) was more than one-dish meals (7–17 %). By estimation, each kindergartener generated 71⋅4 g plate waste daily, accounting for the caloric and monetary values of 146 kcal and 0⋅16 US dollar. The amount of plate waste and the respective caloric and monetary losses were less obvious at the elementary school. Plate waste affected the adequacy of food intakes of schoolchildren from lunch meals. The data obtained from the present study will be useful for planning and implementation of school lunch programme in Thailand and countries with similar context.
全球范围内的食物浪费影响到粮食安全和可持续性。目前，针对学校食物浪费的研究较少。本研究旨在确定泰国学校午餐计划中膳食质量和餐盘浪费情况。本横断面研究在泰国南部的幼儿园和小学食堂中进行，在其真实环境下进行。评估在 2020 年 7 月至 8 月的连续五个上学日进行，为每所学校提供两种菜单，包括米饭配菜和一菜餐。废物收集和量化采用选择性总重量法，按照食物损失和浪费议定书进行。所有午餐菜单的米饭都过量，但肉类、水果、蔬菜和鸡蛋不足，不符合国家午餐标准。每份餐的米饭（7-33%）、肉类（9-22%）、蔬菜（7-65%）、水果（1-19%）和鸡蛋（3-14%）被丢弃。米饭配菜菜单的餐盘浪费（10-29%）多于一菜餐（7-17%）。估计每个幼儿园生每天产生 71.4 克餐盘浪费，相当于 146 卡路里和 0.16 美元的热量和货币价值。在小学，餐盘浪费的数量和相应的热量和货币损失不那么明显。餐盘浪费影响了学生从午餐中摄入食物的充足性。本研究获得的数据将有助于泰国和具有类似背景的国家规划和实施学校午餐计划。
