COMCEC
Reducing Food Waste
In the OIC Member Countries
• Concerning the way to dispose spoilt m ilk and other liquids, Cameroonians are sharply
divided;
• Fruits and vegetables are the m a in over-purchased items th a t are th row n away;
• Cameroonians very rarely dispose m ilk and other liquids;
• Expiration date is the m a in reason for throw ing ou t the food;
• A good h a lf of the participants are quite bothered o f throw ing food away;
• Very few are those who do n o t finish their plate at home;
• Most of them finish their plate when they eat a t home
• Most of them check the expiring date before purchasing a product;
• Cameroonian are sharply divided as for the im pac t of food p rom o tion on their
shopp ing habits;
• Cameroonian participants are quite divided as for caring abou t the food waste tha t
they th row away, however m ost of them th in k it is n o t a p rob lem as it is biodegradable;
• However, in the same time, m o st of them try to keep the food throw n away to the
m in im um ;
• A clear majority of them th in k tha t if they had a better know ledge on how to store food,
to better do food shopping, of the environmental im pac t of food waste, then they would
th row less food away;
• For m o st o f them , throw ing food away is due to cooking too much and tha t the way of
offering food has an im pac t on the leftovers;
• A big share o f them agree w ith some solutions tha t they were introduced to reduce
food waste, such as tacking leftovers back home, using smaller buffets in restaurants
or reducing the portions in the restaurants;
• Most of them state to be aware of the am oun t of money throw n away w ith throw ing
away leftovers.
d) Saudi Arabia
• Saudi A rabian are rather divided concerning the way of disposing the food th a t is no t
eaten, however almost all o f them dispose the vegetable peelings, coffee granules and
tea bags to a no rm al bin
• Clear m ajority dispose the liqu id waste (m ilk, juice and etc) to washbasin
• Bakery products are the m a in over-purchased items
• Saudi Arabian very rarely dispose m ilk and other liquids;
• Expiration date and over-purchasing are the m a in reasons for throw ing ou t the food
• Most of the participants read or watch food waste related topics at least sometimes
and a big h a lf are concerned abou t the food throw ing
• Saudi Arabian are very careful before opening a new package of food
• Most of them finish their plate when they eat a t home
• Food prom otions have a certain im pac t on over-purchasing
• Saudi Arabian are sharply divided on the problematic o f food waste and on the
necessity to be careful of the food tha t is throw n away
• However, alm ost all o f them state tha t they try to waste the m in im um possible and tha t
they w ou ld like to make additional efforts to reduce it again if they had a more general
know ledge abou t the causes and consequences of food waste
• A lm ost all of them , though, declare to be aware of some of the causes of food waste,
like preparing to much diet, p rom otions in the stores, behavior of the kids, supersize
o f the food or the way of offering the meal.
191