Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction Food waste was detrimental to both consumers and society, while reducing food waste was conducive to ensuring food security and environmental sustainability. Mooncake, a traditional Chinese festival food, symbolizes reunion and auspiciousness during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Methods The Chinese food manufacturing industry faced dual challenges of scale expansion and profit decline. However, data from mooncake enterprises revealed that overcapacity exacerbated supply-demand imbalances, necessitating a shift from extensive growth to operational optimization. This study utilizes a comprehensive dataset comprising both enterprises mooncake data and consumers mooncake data. Through a nationwide field survey, 4133 valid consumer samples were collected. Results The findings indicated that the behavior of mooncake waste by consumers was quite common, with a per capita annual mooncake waste by consumers were 129.67 grams. This meant that approximately one-third of the total production annual of mooncake enterprises was wasted. The mooncake wastage behavior of consumers was associated with factors such as marital status and income. Discussion These insights could offer valuable references for mooncake enterprises to refine their strategies and reflected societal acceptance of traditional culture. This study provided actionable recommendations for integrating traditional cultural foods into the modern food consumer market.
Language: English
Subfield: Food Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,353
Award: G4220384136
OpenAlex ID: W7214090391