**1. Introduction**

In recent times, food wastage has become a frequently investigated issue. In countries with developed economic status, the largest quantities of food waste are generated at the consumer level [1]. The ratio of household food waste in the EU is estimated to be about 53% of the amount produced within the entire food chain, which equals 92 kg per capita annually [2]. Reported numbers are mainly originating from calculations based on general waste databases of the member countries. In the last ten years, research activity has been accelerated in this field, delivering a variety of—sometimes contradictory—results. The greatest research activity in the field is focusing on Northern and Western Europe (prominently Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, UK) [3], but there are several examples outside the continent as well (USA, China, Canada) [4].

The majority of the variation in reported empirical data can be explained by the wide range of methods used by the studies. There are quite a few direct research methods that can be applied in research practice to acquire primary data on the extent of household food waste [5,6]. Several reports used questionnaires, where the focus is on self-reporting [7–10]. Physical measurements, such as diaries or composition analysis, are also widely used methods [11–17]. Nevertheless, we must take into consideration that these methods entail a grea<sup>t</sup> deal of uncertainty [18]. For instance, separately collected organic stream could contain other biological waste besides food (flowers, green waste from the garden or the street), while other elements could be missing (food put in general domestic waste, poured into the sink, or fed to animals) [19]. A significant gap can be detected between the amounts resulted from physical measurements and self-report surveys [17,20,21]. Self-reported numbers tend to be significantly lower than physically measured values. Physical measurements, however, require a serious commitment from family members and a grea<sup>t</sup> amount of trust invested in the researchers. Moreover, gathering an appropriate sample size in physical measurement surveys is a very challenging endeavor. Despite the known hindrances of the discussed research methods, it must be noted that acquiring reliable and detailed information on household food waste is of grea<sup>t</sup> importance [22]. A recent study argues that physical measurements for data collection instead of self-reporting are preferred [23], because of their higher reliability.

In the case of Hungary, the only study based on the physical measurement of household food waste was conducted in 2016 [24]. The measurement involved 100 households during a one-week period. Besides solid food items, liquid waste was also measured, which was later considered to be an essential element of food waste accounting [6]. Based on the results of this study, 68.04 kg of food were wasted in average by a Hungarian person annually, and out of it 33.14 kg would have been avoidable. Similar results have been found by a Greek study, involving 101 urban households [15]. After the 14-day measurement period, the assessment of the total per capita food waste resulted in 76.1 kg, of which 25.9 kg considered as avoidable. The proportion of the avoidable part was proven to be relevant in Finland too, 23 kg per person annually [12]. The di fferentiation between avoidable and unavoidable food waste is recommended and applied in the vast majority of measurements [11,12,16,17,23,25,26].

The composition of household food waste varies from country to country. However, it is found that generally the most perishable food items are thrown away the most frequently [27]. With respect to the avoidable category, these food items include fresh fruits and vegetables, bakery products, and dairy products. According to the previous Hungarian study, the main types were meals, bakery products, fresh vegetables, dairy products, and fresh fruits [24]. In Serbia, though in reverse order, bakery products and ready-to-eat food items were on the top of the list as well [28]. Bread and bakery products were observed to have the highest ratio in Norway as well, based on a waste composition analysis [14]. Contrastively, fresh vegetables and drinks have been found to be the most prevalent types in the UK [11]. Vegetables were observed to be the most commonly wasted food items in Denmark, Greece, and Israel [13,15,16].

In order to reach the Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, halving the amount of food waste by 2030 [29], it would be essential to determine the magnitude of the problem that we face. According to a recent study, 15-16% of the total environmental impact of the food supply chain is derived from food waste [30]. It can also be stated that food wastage is in constant increase (especially in developed countries), and the actual quantity of food waste seems to be twice the amount of the results from previous global estimates [31]. Physical measurements, especially in households—a sector that accounts for the most significant part of food waste in the food chain—play a central role in refining national statistics [24]. However, this poses a particular challenge, since the lifestyle, consumption trends, and purchasing habits are in continuous change [32].

Recently, the importance of food waste measurement has become a major concern also at the European Union legislative level. Until 2020, the member states have to integrate a food waste reduction strategy into the national waste reduction plan. Furthermore, food waste prevention campaigns have to be established at the national level [33]. The European Commission has recently issued a decision establishing a common methodology and determining the minimum quality requirements for food waste data collection [34,35]. The national food waste reduction strategies should be based on the

actual numbers, which have to be updated every four years. Measures aiming at food waste reduction may pose an elevated health risk to consumers (for instance eating expired food or offering it to charity, feeding potentially infectious food to livestock or companion animals). Therefore, communication campaigns, governmental institutions, and business organizations should handle food safety questions as a priority during food waste reduction efforts [36].

The aim of this research was to estimate the amount of food waste that an average Hungarian household generates based on a one-week period. This investigation was a replication of a household food waste measurement conducted in 2016 with the same methodology, within the boundaries of the Wasteless (Maradék nélkül) food waste prevention campaign, organized by the National Food Chain Safety Office in Hungary.
