Ramadan in UAE: Up to 40% food untouched at restaurants; steps to reduce waste
Restaurants in the UAE see up to 40 percent increase in food wastage by customers, while over 80 percent of households in the UAE have reported food being wasted during the holy month of Ramadan. To combat this, UAE's national food loss and waste initiative Ne'ma is running campaigns throughout the month by spreading awareness and collaborating with partners.
According to Khuloud Hasan Al Nuwais, Ne'ma Steering Committee Secretary-General, the aim is to promote some key behaviours like 'serving smaller portions at Iftar and Suhoor, properly storing leftovers to be consumed later, and donating surplus food through structured community programmes' to cut down on food wastage.
She added that planning meals in advance and avoiding excessive grocery shopping can help curb unnecessary waste. These steps have been designed based on the findings of the agency's Ramadan study conducted last year with Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority and Department Of Culture And Tourism to analyse food waste patterns.
Increasing food wastage
One market research company revealed another shocking figure. 'In our past surveys we have seen over 80 percent of the households that are fasting agree that the amount of food wastage goes up during Ramadan,' said Himanshu Vashishtha, CEO of SixthFactor Consulting. Meanwhile, restaurant owners in the UAE shared how food wastage increases, especially during Ramadan, and how they worked to decrease it.
'Our observation is that many customers leave about 40 percent of their food untouched, especially during Ramadan,' said Shyjil Hussain, owner of Zam Zam Mandi group of restaurants. 'When people are hungry, they think they can eat a lot and order as much. But once the food arrives, they get full really quickly thereby wasting a lot of food.'
He said the restaurant tried to redistribute food based on the guidelines set by authorities
His comments were supported by Eti Bhasin, Executive Director of Majestic Hotels, The Permit Room, and Dhaba Lane, whose hotel changed their serving style to cut down on food waste. 'We used to have a buffet concept for iftars and we used see a minimum wastage of 30 to 35 percent, especially of mains,' she said. 'That is why, for the last two years, we stick to providing only set menus on the table and start preparations only once bookings are confirmed.'
Vikas Malhotra, Restaurant Manager of Barbecue Delights said the restaurant tried to do more live stations in the hope that people would not hoard more food on their plates to combat food wastage that he estimated went up by 20 percent during Ramadan.
Work done
Khuloud said that their work with hotels, which involved small steps, brought in big results. 'One of our key initiatives involved simple adjustments such as modifying plate sizes, altering serving styles and adjusting portioning methods, which resulted in food waste reductions of up to 62 percent,' she said.
In 2024 alone, Ne'ma successfully diverted 612,000 kg of food from landfills, preventing the release of 1.5 million kg of carbon emissions. This led to the creation of 49,000 kg of compost, which was returned to farmland covering more than 18,700 square metres. Over 367,450 kg of surplus food was rescued and redistributed, benefiting over 450,000 people across the country, with 23,000 meals provided through smart community fridges.
The authority has also launched the country's first Food Waste Baseline Study, which will provide comprehensive data by 2026. Khuloud added that Ne'ma conduct behavioral studies to analyze trends, measure the impact of various interventions, and refine our approach. 'This data-driven strategy helps inform policymaking, supports business decisions, and allows us to track progress toward the national goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030,' she said.
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