Association of sustainable practices according to types of collective food services

Introduction: collective food services (CFSs) play a key role in sustainability, but face challenges in measuring and managing waste, as well as some studies demonstrate unsatisfactory results considering sustainability indicators used in food services. Objective: to associate sustainable practices according to types of collective food services. Methodology: a cross-sectional analytical study conducted using an online survey of nutritionists in collective food services (CFS) with at least six months of experience. The survey, validated by experts, consists of 43 questions on general characteristics and sustainable practices. Associations were analyzed using Chi-square test and logistic regression. Results: factors associated with sustainable practices were the type of facility with energy optimization (p = 0.038) and use of disposable packaging (p = 0.002). CFSs complexity was associated with liquid waste management (p = 0.001) and use of disposable packaging (p = 0.008). CFSs administration type was associated with liquid waste management (p = 0.009). A multivariate analysis found that non-hospital services were more likely to implement sustainable practices (OR = 0.372; 95 % CI, 0.171-0.813). Finally, among the main barriers identified for the implementation of sustainable practices are the limited time to monitor compliance and the safety risk when making food donations. Conclusion: it highlights the importance of the type of service and how it can influence sustainable practices, defining consequently, sustainability promotion strategies that must be different and specific, according to the nature of the CFSs, and the importance of generating awareness, training and effective action plans to mitigate environmental impact and ensure the long-term sustainability of these facilities.