*4.5. Limitations of the Study*

Due to the commercially sensitive nature of sharing information about food waste, and to reduce the inconvenience and distance between the interviewer and the interviewee, the interviews and observations were conducted without any audio recordings. To counteract that limitation, interviews and observations with the same employee were performed on several occasions by two researchers, and the findings were compared and discussed after every field visit. Another effort to minimise uncertainties was undertaken through respondent validations where the results were reviewed and verified by the employees at the FV departments. The supermarkets included in this study are part of the same retail chain and belong to the hypermarket segment, and are not representative of all grocery stores. Studies in other retail chains and smaller store formats are likely to have different waste patterns, due to different policies, practices, product range and turnover. Future studies in other retail chains, in smaller store formats and in other countries need to be undertaken to provide a more complete understanding of the grocery retail sector.
