A survey by House Foods Group Inc. on reducing household food waste, the seventh of its kind, found that awareness is high but the rate of using food up after purchase remains low. It also highlighted efforts to use up familiar ingredients and publish recipes.
According to the results of House Foods Group Inc.'s seventh survey on food waste, awareness of food waste reached 99.4%, while food waste was found to occur in approximately 80% of households. Although awareness is high before purchase, practices after purchase, such as using food up and storing it properly, remain limited. The internet survey was conducted from 29 June to 6 July 2026, with 4,617 valid responses, including 1,056 from children.
The foods and ingredients most frequently discarded recently included familiar vegetables and daily-use food items such as cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, tofu and natto. Many cases were attributed to people being unable to cook as planned amid busy lifestyles and therefore being unable to use the ingredients up. The survey also noted that efforts to curb over-purchasing during shopping are progressing, while the practices of using food up when cooking and storing it properly remain insufficient.
As part of its More Things You Can Do Because It's Curry Project, the company published original recipes encouraging people to use food up. The recipes are designed to be enjoyable for children and include lettuce and tofu omu-curry fried rice. The company also supported food education events organized by No Peko Labo. Awareness of food waste among children was 78.4%, higher than the overall rate, although some children remained unaware of the issue.