Označení trvanlivosti a plýtvání potravinami v ČR

The topic of this diploma thesis is the issue of consumer food waste due to expiration dates. The goal of the thesis is to discover how different generations of Czech consumers understand food date labels and how does this understanding influence food waste. To achieve this goal, research in the form of triangulation of two qualitative methods – a food waste diary followed up by in-depth interviews – was performed on a selected sample of 28 participants from two different age groups. The findings of the research are that consumers generally view wasting food due to date labels as avoidable and undesirable. One group of consumers avoids this waste by not relying on dates and only throwing food away in case it has actually gone bad. The other group tries to prevent the occurrence of expired food in their household altogether. However, a successful implementation of both strategies requires experience, which is why younger consumers tend to waste more food due to date labels than the older generation.