New Zealanders waste approximately 2100 tonnes of chips every year, with the French fry topping the list of most-wasted fast food items and accounting for half of all binned takeaways.
The problem is largely to do with scoop size. Many consumers are buying blind, as there is no regular scoop size. Some outlets offer small scoops to help with their margins, while others offer large ones for fear of being seen as ‘cheap’. The low price of the product also means that consumers can throw them away without feeling any financial guilt.
From a health perspective, research from The Chip Group shows that 330g is an appropriate serving size. By encouraging operators to serve a consistently sized scoop, consumers can better gauge the nutritional content consumed. It also allows operators to manage their costings, because 1kg of chips will give them three 330g scoops, so out of a 5kg box of chips they can produce 15 servings of chips.
