U.S.A. | Restaurant owners have admitted to losing up to $500 a week, totalling $26,000 per restaurant each year, alarmingly, in new research by Alto-Shaam, a commercial kitchen equipment innovator. Moreover, almost a fifth (16 percent) of restaurant owners are sacrificing substantial losses above the reported median, at over $20,800 annually per restaurant.
In the survey, where 57 percent of operators estimated that they throw out between 100-500lbs of food in an average week, restauranteurs shared the top reasons for food waste: customer plate waste (54 percent), spoilage of fresh food that has a short shelf life, (49 percent), demand fluctuations (48 percent), inaccurate portioning (38 percent), and inconsistent cooking causing burnt or unusable products (36 percent).
For large food chains, some of which have over 40,000 restaurants across America, these losses could amount to between six hundred million and one billion dollars each year.
This highlights the urgent areas of operation, from customer behaviour to kitchen responsibilities, that restaurant owners and managers should look to examine and, therefore, adjust.
Currently, 83 percent of commercial restaurant owners and purchasing decision-makers in the U.S. are either exploring or already implementing strategies to reduce food waste in their kitchens. With the most common initiatives currently being prioritised.
A Recycle Track Systems report found the restaurant industry spends an estimated USD 162 billion every year in costs related to wasted food. As the hospitality industry continues to struggle financially, this further highlights an opportunity for American restaurants to make savings from revised food waste reduction strategies.
"It's great to see most restaurants are taking commendable steps to implement strategies aimed at reducing food waste, while navigating the complexities of our current tough and unpredictable economy," said Lucy McQuillan, president of Alto-Shaam.
"However, our research shows that foodservice equipment itself could help accelerate operators' waste reduction goals. It is crucial that leaders of our industry consider innovative ways to help operators reduce their food waste, allowing them to financially benefit from such strategies and therefore better navigate the challenging economic conditions currently being faced."
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