4.1 Receiving and storing raw materials

Failure to receive food and materials due to the lack of adequate physical space was observed in this study. Sometimes the various food types were received without proper inspection because they did not have adequate space.

After receiving, the raw materials or ingredients should be stored according to their perishability characteristics, under ambient temperature or in cold units such as cold rooms and freezers [18, 27].

The storage area was visibly inadequate in the three restaurants evaluated in this study, and there was excessive stacking of materials, which is in violation of the sanitary legislation [18]. These conditions were also verified by Ricarte et al. [27], who discussed food wastage as a result of inadequate storage conditions.


Table 4.

Identification of the solid waste generated at the various stages of the meal production process.

Management of Organic Solid Waste in Meal Production DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.83535

With respect to storage, cardboard-type residues were observed in this study, which came from the packaging of the food received. In order to minimize the generation of cardboard-type waste, food services should have an adequate area to receive inputs. This study showed that food was received on the sidewalk of the restaurant, which made it difficult to transfer the items from the carton to the plastic box.

Considering that cardboard was one of the most recyclable types of waste generated in the three food services (Table 2) and that this residue was present in several stages of the meal production process (Table 4), adequate processes or protocols for receiving raw food materials would aid in reducing it.

## 4.2 Prepreparation of meats and prepreparation of fruits and vegetables

The prepreparation stage is divided into two areas, one for the prepreparation of meat (poultry, fish, beef, and pork) and the other for the prepreparation of fruits and vegetables.

In the meat prepreparation stage, the following actions were carried out: clean, cut, or grind the meats. A low percentage of meat residues (skin, sebum, nerve, and bones) were observed in in the three community restaurants (Table 2).

The prepreparation of fruits and vegetables required the removal of damaged leaves, barks, and stalks, as well as cleaning and cutting. There was a higher level of residue generation from fruits and vegetables than that observed during the prepreparation of meats in the three restaurants involved in this study (Table 2). A similar result was obtained by Zotesso et al., who also observed greater volumes of organic solid residues from the fruits and vegetables in the prepreparation stage in a university restaurant [23].

Various factors may be related to food waste, and consequently, to solid waste generation in this stage, such as [7].


Andreatti et al. [28] and Ricarte et al. [27] also established that food was wasted during the prepreparation of fruits and vegetables in the restaurants that they

Figure 3. Food waste due to the lack of equipment maintenance.

Figure 4. Excessive removal of edible food parts.

studied. The authors indicated that the waste was related to the failure to receive materials and the procedure adopted for cutting, which involved excessive removal of barks and shavings.

These factors not only cause food wastage but also increase the cost of serving meals. Therefore, measures should be taken to adapt the menu, provide specific training for food handlers, monitor the activities carried out, and implement preventive and corrective maintenance of the equipment.
