Estudo do desperdício alimentar e aproveitamento de resíduos alimentícios: uma revisão integrativa Brasil versus Portugal

Abstract

Not even the rapid advancement of technology has prevented the large production of food from generating a significant impact in diverse areas such as political, social, and environmental, and in different cultures in the world. In this reality, a big question pervades many studies, because, in a world where there is still hunger, billions of food that can be consumed and used are rapidly wasted. Even in more developed countries such as Portugal, the act of wasting food is still seen – and at the national level, the same occurs. The greatest impact is caused by the volume of food or part of it that is discarded in homes, characterized as domestic waste (leaves, bark, seeds, stalks, etc.), arising from the lack of planning or knowledge about using these foods in new preparations. Therefore, the objective was to carry out an integrative review of the literature to identify food waste data at the end of the production chain, in the Brazilian scenario and Portugal, the existing initiatives and programs, and also to evaluate the opinions of consumers of both countries, about waste and possible ways to use leftover food, through a questionnaire applied virtually, using a Google tool on social networks. Thus, the literature review allowed us to theoretically quantify the number of food waste in Brazil and Portugal, as 60 kg and 84 kg of household waste, per person each year, respectively. It became evident that in Brazil, the problem is related to the historical, social, and economic context of a portion of the population; in Portugal, the large supply of food products and their easy access influence surplus consumption. The application of the questionnaire confirmed the reality, where the monthly purchases in Brazilian families of respondents and the lack of planning of the Portuguese respondents are the main causes of the problem. As a solution to waste, the studies and the experiences of the participants themselves considered the use of inedible parts of fruits such as bananas, papayas, watermelon, apples, oranges, mangoes, and vegetables such as beets, carrots, potatoes, cassava to make cakes, sweets, pâtés, and even obtained flour showing the variety of possibilities found in the full use of food.