Consumer Seafood Waste and the Potential of a ‘Direct-from-Frozen’ Approach to Prevention
Roni A. Neff,
David C. Love,
Katie Overbey,
Erin Biehl,
Jonathan Deutsch,
Irena Gorski-Steiner,
Pete Pearson,
Toriana Vigil,
Catherine Turvey,
Jillian P. Fry
Affiliations
Roni A. Neff
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 111 Market Place, Suite 840, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA
David C. Love
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 111 Market Place, Suite 840, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA
Katie Overbey
Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Erin Biehl
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 111 Market Place, Suite 840, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA
Jonathan Deutsch
College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Irena Gorski-Steiner
Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Pete Pearson
World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA
Toriana Vigil
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, 3400 N Charles St, Maryland Hall 221, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Catherine Turvey
Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
Jillian P. Fry
Department of Health Sciences, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252, USA
Few food waste interventions focus on drivers distinct to particular food groups, such as seafood. Given suggestive evidence that seafood may be wasted at exceptionally high rates, and given its environmental, economic and nutritional value, this research provides insights into seafood-specific consumer food waste interventions. We performed three complementary sub-studies to examine consumer and retailer views regarding seafood waste and frozen seafood as well as perceptions of an intervention providing chef-created recipes to promote cooking frozen seafood without defrosting. The findings indicated an openness to a direct-from-frozen intervention among many consumers and retailers, and suggested seven potential barriers to adoption, along with ways to address them. Underlying the potential for this intervention, and more broadly contributing to addressing consumer seafood waste, the research formed the basis of a new “4 Ps” concept model to characterize the drivers of discarded seafood: proficiency, perceptions/knowledge, perishability, and planning/convenience. These factors shape waste through pathways that include behavioral protocols; taste preferences; waste-prevention efforts; and food safety concerns, precautions, and errors. This research suggested the benefit of testing a larger-scale direct-from-frozen intervention using insights from the concept model and, more broadly, the benefits of exploring approaches to food waste prevention rooted in specific food groups.
