Healthy foods are wasted more often: Study explores why perceptions drive disposal decisions

Healthy foods are wasted more often: Study explores why perceptions drive disposal decisions

Despite growing efforts to combat food waste, healthy foods are unfairly discarded at higher rates due to consumer misperceptions. A new study in the Journal of Marketing reveals that consumers are more likely to throw away healthy foods nearing their expiration dates compared to less healthy options, driven by the false belief that healthy foods spoil faster.

Healthy But Wasted: How Consumer Misconceptions About Expiration Dates Increase Food Waste and Eat Into Profit Margins

The fight against food waste has gained global momentum, with policies like California’s ban on “sell by” dates aiming to reduce unnecessary disposal. A new Journal of Marketing study finds that consumer perceptions about food healthiness play a surprisingly critical role in waste decisions. We discover that healthy foods are more likely to be discarded when nearing their expiration dates because consumers perceive them as more perishable—even w…