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Acta Portuguesa de Nutrição

On-line version ISSN 2183-5985

Abstract

NOBREGA, Filipa; VEIROS, Marcela  and  ROCHA, Ada. Analysis of the Environmental Aspects in Food units of University of Porto Social Services. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2019, n.19, pp.42-48. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2019.1908.

In the last few decades, due to several changes in population’s life style, food has become more and more unsustainable. The main objective of the present study was to identify the needs in terms of sustainability, mainly focusing environmental aspects, of the 11 canteens of the Food Service Units of a Portuguese University To assess the environmental aspects of canteens, a checklist was created, containing 72 questions which allowed the qualitative evaluation of the environmental performance of food units, in terms of water, electricity and gas consumption; chemical and waste management; use of horticultural products and customer satisfaction. Data collection was performed during visits to the canteens through direct observation by the researcher and recording of the situations contained in the checklist. Each question was scored, using an adaptation of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) method. Questions were score on a scale of 1 to 3, were “3” was assigned to suitable aspects, corresponding to the option with less environmental impact and “1” to the highest environmental impact, obtaining a qualitative assessment of the environmental aspects of each canteen evaluated. The ratings obtained by the different canteens were in the range of 55% to 74%, corresponding to the classification of Acceptable. The managers are not aware of the amounts spent on water, electricity and gas, neither targets in order to reduce or waste or control expenses. In most units, preventive maintenance of equipment is carried out. Most units are located in old buildings and do not have an energy rating. All hygiene products were mostly non-biodegradable, but had technical sheets including safety data. Most units select waste and recycle oils, pallets and others. None of the units has a quantity of leftovers registered. None of the units has an organic or inorganic waste shredder and all use disposable materials. Through the analyses of the checklist’ results, it was possible to conclude that all canteens were above the Acceptable limit. Nevertheless, the general state points to the need of economic investments as well as attitudes and behavior changes of workers and managers in order to increase sustainability in terms of environmental aspects of the canteens.

Keywords : Environment; Evaluation; Consumables; Waste.

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