Food wastage and implications for food safety with special reference to marriage ceremonies

This study estimates the quantity of food waste and its causes in the marriage ceremonies in district Sargodha, Pakistan. A questionnaire was prepared for the collection of data on food waste. Before final data collection, a pilot survey was conducted and some changes have been made as per suggestions of the stakeholders. Every marquee and marriage hall were visited several times for data collection and data about 255 events of marriage ceremonies was collected. Along with empirical data, the focus group discussions and interviews were organized with managers and the staff of the marriage halls and marquees. Their experience and views were also recorded for the theoretical understanding of the science of food waste and its causes. The study concludes that, on average, every individual waste 183 grams of food in a marriage ceremony in district Sargodha. From theoretical side, it is concluded that guest’s unawareness about food waste and the typical behaviour of the guests are the major reasons of food waste in marriage ceremonies. While on the empirical side, the major reason of food waste is the buffet serving that causes to increase the quantity of food waste very significantly.