*2.1. Mixed Methods Research Design*

To understand the store environment and comprehend how food waste occurs, three different methods were used. The research design was based on mixed methods [38,39] and the design was uniform for all stores. Information about the employees' daily work routines and waste management was gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews [40] with staff, and through participatory observation [41] during the work in the FV department. The authors obtained existing quantitative data from databases on food waste for one year that each store keeps. The methods complemented each other, and methodological triangulation [42] gave a more diverse description of the research problem.
