Challenging Perfection: A Systematic Review of Suboptimal Food Consumption

Year 2025, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 74 - 93, 22.12.2025

Yudum Tuğçe Erkli , Aslı Tolunay

https://doi.org/10.58636/jtis.1814159

https://izlik.org/JA39UF33TX

Abstract

A key target of Sustainable Development Goal 12 ("Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns") is to halve global food waste by 2030, tackling both retail and consumer levels as well as production and supply chains. This article guides researchers and practitioners by offering a critical review of current research on food waste reduction, emphasizing suboptimal food consumption (e.g., "ugly" produce) as a key area. In this study, a detailed systematic research on suboptimal foods is conducted with 65 articles selected from the Scopus database, and the existing literature on suboptimal food consumption is analyzed to determine its evolution over the years and gaps by clustering prominent issues, and deficiencies in the literature. Recognizing the potential of suboptimal food consumption as a promising tool for food waste reduction, the findings discuss the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing the consumption of suboptimal foods, and offer suggestions for future studies.

Keywords

suboptimal foods , food waste reduction , consumer , consumption

Mükemmelliğe Meydan Okuma: Optimal Olmayan Gıda Tüketiminin Sistematik Bir İncelemesi

https://izlik.org/JA39UF33TX

Abstract

Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Hedefi 12'nin ("Sürdürülebilir tüketim ve üretim modellerini sağlama") temel hedeflerinden biri, küresel gıda israfını 2030 yılına kadar yarıya indirmektir; bu, perakende ve tüketici seviyelerinin yanı sıra üretim ve tedarik zincirlerini de ele almaktadır. Bu makale, gıda israfını azaltma konusundaki mevcut araştırmaların eleştirel bir incelemesini sunarak araştırmacılara ve uygulayıcılara yol göstermekte ve optimal olmayan gıda tüketimini (örn. "çirkin" ürünler) önemli bir alan olarak vurgulamaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Scopus veri tabanından seçilen 65 makale ile optimal olmayan gıdalar üzerine ayrıntılı sistematik bir araştırma yapılmış ve optimal olmayan gıda tüketimi üzerine mevcut literatür, yıllar içindeki evrimini ve boşluklarını belirlemek için öne çıkan konuları ve literatürdeki eksiklikleri kümeleyerek analiz edilmiştir. Optimal olmayan gıda tüketiminin gıda israfını azaltmak için umut vadeden bir araç olma potansiyelini tanıyan bulgular, optimal olmayan gıdaların tüketimini arttırmayı amaçlayan müdahalelerin etkinliğini tartışmakta ve gelecekteki çalışmalar için öneriler sunmaktadır.

Keywords

optimal olmayan gıdalar , gıda israfını azaltma , tüketici , tüketim

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