Abstract:
This research report used an exploratory aim through the interpretivists paradigm to explore food waste in the airline catering industry. The triple bottom line and food waste hierarchy was used as theories within this project and the brand chosen for this project was Air Chefs SA, a leading airline catering company in South Africa. The research problem was that the airline catering industry has a negative impact on the environment and food security in South Africa due to its food waste management systems. The data for this report was collected through in-depth interviews by understanding the brand’s food waste management systems
and exploring more sustainable food waste management systems that will have a better outcome on the environment and food security in South Africa. The study was done on the two Air Chefs units namely Cape Town and Johannesburg where three participants from the Johannesburg unit and two participants from the Cape Town unit were interviewed via
Zoom. The participants were selected in terms of their positions and knowledge about the key factors namely corporate social responsibility, post and in-flight food waste management systems and meal preparation within Air Chefs SA. This data collection happened over a time-period of nine days. The scope of the study was mainly on food waste within the brand and looking at systems in which to improve and prevent food waste. It was founded that the brand has sustainable measures in place regarding the environment and aspects to help food security in South Africa, however international waste, meal ordering systems, new employee supervision and menu changes could be looked at as those were the major problems identified within the findings.
