The effects of food loss and wastage on cost in food and beverage businesses: Research on kitchen staff

The number and variety of food and beverage businesses are increasing. Competition environment of businesses changes and price determination becomes harder. Businesses have to make a profit to survive, but it is not possible to increase their profitability by changing prices. In this context, businesses are seeking to reduce their costs in order to make a profit. The biggest cost reduction in a food and beverage business is to avoid wastage. In the literature, although there are various researches on food wastage, it has been seen that the knowledge, opinions and attitudes of the kitchen workers regarding the extent and how the food wastage in food and beverage enterprises affect the operating costs have not been evaluated. The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes and behaviors of the kitchen staff at the point of food loss and wastage, to examine the situations of linking food loss and wastage to the cost, and to give an idea about the studies to be done on the subject. The research was carried out on the kitchen staffs who continue their profession in 4-star hotel, 5-star hotel and 1st class restaurant businesses located in Istanbul, Afyon, Sakarya and Bolu. In the research, a questionnaire was determined as the data collection method. The questionnaire was sent online via the internet. As a result of the data collection process, 228 questionnaires which were understandable and acceptable were reached. SPSS and PLS were used in data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the demographic characteristics of the participants. According to the results obtained from the study, the perception of the kitchen staff's towards food loss and wastage in the purchasing phase affects their perception of cost control directly and positively. The perception of the staff regarding food loss and wastage in the purchasing phase affects the perception of food loss and wastage in the consumption directly and positively. The perception of food loss and wastage in the purchasing phase affect perception of food loss and wastage in the production phase directly and positively. It was determined that kitchen staff's perception of food loss and wastage in consumption are positively associated with their perception of cost control. The perception of food loss and waste in production phase affects the perception of waste prevention in consumption positively, however there is no direct relationship between level of food loss and waste in production phase and cost levels. On the other hand, the level of food loss and waste in production phase has an indirect meaningful effect on cost control by increasing the level of waste prevention in consumption phase. The decrease in food loss and wastage in food and beverage businesses is seen as an important factor in ensuring the sustainability of food in this aspect of gastronomic tourism.