OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA

DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRITION

FACULTY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

BACHELOR DEGREE OF SCIENCE IN FOOD, NUTRITION AND DIETETICS

PROJECT TITLE: FOOD LEFTOVER PRACTICES AMONG CONSUMERS IN

URBAN DISTRICT, ZANZIBAR

STUDENT NAME: MWALIM AME NEMA

REGISTRATION NUMBER U19.538.0060

SUPERVISOR’S NAME PROF. LEONARD FWEJA

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF

TANZANIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR DEGREE OF SCIENCE IN

FOOD, NUTRITION AND DIETETICS

2023

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 CERTIFICATION

The undersigned certify that he has read and hereby recommends for acceptance by the Open

University a research report titled “Food Leftover Practices among Consumers in Urban

District, Zanzibar”, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor

Degree of Science in Food, nutrition and dietetics of the Open University of Tanzania

Signature

…………………………….
Prof. Leonard Fweja
(Supervisor)

Date

………………………………………

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 DECLARATION

I, MWALIM AME NEMA declare that this research report entitled “Food Leftover

Practices among Consumers in Urban District, Zanzibar” is my original work and has not

submitted elsewhere for award of any other Degree.

MWALIM AME NEMA

Signature…………………….

Date …………………..............

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My gratitude first goes to the Almighty God who has given me the strength to undertake this
research.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my parents for the financial support and care,
accorded to me throughout this success in which without them I wouldn’t be what I am.
I also owe a lot of appreciation to all those who assisted me in carrying out this research. I am
grateful to my supervisor Prof. Leonard Fweja who helped me through giving me the right
guidance, advice and assistance concerning the best way of doing and completing my
research.
Thanks also go to all those lecturers who imparted professionalism into my work.

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 Table of Contents
Certification................................................................................................................................ i
Declaration.................................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgement....................................................................................................................iii
Table of Contents......................................................................................................................iv
CHAPTER ONE........................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background Information of the study..................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the problem.....................................................................................................2
1.3 Research Objectives.............................................................................................................4
1.3.1 General Objective..............................................................................................................4
1.3.2 Specific objectives............................................................................................................4
1.4 Research questions...............................................................................................................5
1.5 Significance of the Study.....................................................................................................5

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Information of the study
Leftovers are surplus foods remaining unconsumed at the end of a meal, which may be put in
containers with the intention of eating later. Inedible remains like bones are considered waste,
not leftovers. Depending on the situation, the amount of food and the type of food, leftovers
may be saved or thrown away. Leftovers from meals at home are often eaten later. This is
facilitated by the private environment and convenience of airtight containers and
refrigeration. People may eat leftovers in Urban District, Zanzibar directly from the
refrigerator, reheat them, or use them as ingredients to make a new dish (Smith, Andrew F.
ed, 2004). It is important to use different chopping boards for different food items to prevent
cross contamination. Thawing of frozen items can be done in refrigerator, microwave, and
cold water or during cooking. For holding, hot items must be kept hot (<65ºC) and cold items
kept cold (<5ºC). Food items must never be left in temperature danger zone of 50-60ºC for
more than 4hrs. All leftover food when consumed should be reheated at 75ºC to prevent any
food safety hazards. Special precautious must be taken while handling high-risk foods.
(P.Dudeja, A. Singh 2017).
Consumers are those people who eat, use and handle food leftovers (Kwon et al 2008)
Consumer’s behavior for handling food leftover will be studied to investigate the length of
time different types of food leftover; such as meat, rice, fresh salad and other dishes will be
kept refrigerated or will be left at room temperature before refrigeration. Furthermore this
study will also investigate how consumers will determine if the food is still safe for
consumption. Potentially risky behaviors like foodborne illness will be observed to determine
if the consumers take necessary counter measure like safe production and handling of food to
alleviate such risk (Kwon et al, 2008 & Terpstra et al, 2005).
Changes in the consumption pattern of society have been identified as certain risk factors for
foodborne illness such as improper holding temperature, preparing food ahead of planned
schedule, poor personal hygiene, inadequate cooking, inadequate cleaning and disinfecting of
equipment, cross contamination, use of leftover food, and contaminated raw material. Poor
standards of hygiene during food preparation and the lack of training in food safety by the
food handlers have been the most important causes for the increase in foodborne illness (S.
Hoffmann & E. Scallan, 2017).

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1.2 Statement of the problem
The impacts of food leftovers are more profound in developing countries that are already
grappling with issues such as availability, accessibility and proper utilization of food
resources (FAO, 2019). Food leftover practices can have several benefits such as cost saving,
lower methane emissions, lower carbon footprint and improve the consumer’s health
(Cicatiello et al, 2016) however improper handling can results into serious health
consequences to the consumers.
A study done in Arusha-Tanzania by Dr. (Christopher, (2020) focused on the amount of
leftovers consumed and found that people are served with large portions of food and they end
up leaving half on the plate. As a result, leftover food ends up in the garbage, and ultimately
the landfill, produces methane a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent than carbon
dioxide (Mutungi, 2020). On the other hand, according to Andrew et al, (2004) tThe common
practice among consumers’ of put their leftovers is put it in the containers or dish and then
store in the refrigerator with the intention of eating later. Thereafter, they eat leftover directly
from the refrigerator, reheat them or use them as ingredients to make a new dish (Andrew et
al, 2004).
In general, food leftovers have both positive and negative impacts to the consumers,
depending on the consumer’s eating habits involved with leftovers. With an increase in
portion size comes the perception of the amount of intake a particular person considers. For
example, a smaller portion usually leads to smaller consumption, making consumers believe
they have not eaten enough and negatively impacting their eating habits. In turn a larger
portion leads to a greater amount of leftovers, whereas a smaller portion leads to a small
amount of leftovers. Through extensive research, one of the most influential factors of weight
gain is leftovers food and the increased amount of consumption because of it (Oliver, 2007).
Apart from those studies this lonely study done in mainland Tanzania that focused mainly on
the amount of food waste in quantitative terms, there is limited documented information
regarding food leftovers practices among consumers. Therefore, in this regard the proposed
study intends to research on the food leftovers practices among consumers in Urban District,
Zanzibar.

1.3 Research objectives

1.3.1 General objectives
To investigate home food leftover practices among consumers in Urban District, Zanzibar.

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1.3.2 Specific objectives
The specific objectives of this study are to:-
1. Identify the common types of food leftovers consumed.
2. Assess consumers’ knowledge about food leftovers safety concerns.
3. Evaluate consumers’ leftovers storage practices.

1.4 Research questions

The study will seek to answer the following questions
1. What are the common types of food leftovers consumed?
2. What are the levels of consumers’ knowledge about food leftovers safety concerns?
3. How does consumer store their leftover?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will be useful to consumers in understanding safety issues

associated with food leftover and the implications on their health. The findings will also

enrich the board of knowledge for the academicians and provide a ground for further research

in related studies. The study findings in this research will act as reference for other future

researchers.

On the other hand they The findings will also provide a base for knowledge to policy makers

and regulatory agencies like Zanzibar Food and Drug Agency (ZFDA) in making the

necessary improvements and implementing the intervention. on the impacts of food leftovers

to the consumer’s health and its environment. Hence they will be able to make good policy

against those negative impacts of food leftovers. The findings will also enhance food leftover

consumer’s knowledge about the importance of hygienic issues and the best way to handle

and preserve their food leftover to avoid the risks associated with food leftover.

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References