A Quality by Design Framework for Mobile-Based Household Food Waste Reduction

Household food waste remains one of the most damaging waste streams n environmental and economic terms, and progress toward SDG 12.3 at the consumer stage is still limited. Household food management can be framed as a multi-stage process (planning, purchasing, storage, cooking, consumption and leftovers) in which waste emerges as a quality defect driven by weak process control. Digital technologies—mobile applications, AI and smart tracking—can function as quality tools by enabling measurement, decision support and feedback across this journey. However, current market offerings are typically narrow in scope and designed around isolated stages, resulting in fragmented support and limited behavioural fit. This paper combines (i) a structured review of ehavioural drivers and barriers, (ii) a benchmarking of existing mobile solutions and (iii) a user survey to prioritise design requirements. The evidence is synthesised into an integrated Quality-by-Design framework that maps digital controls to each stage of household food management through a measurement–control–feedback logic. A conceptual prototype (FoodFlow) illustrates the framework through meal planning, inventory and expiry management, AI-assisted recipe suggestions, engagement mechanisms and a sustainability-impact dashboard. The contribution is a eplicable, quality-driven design route for digital interventions addressing household food waste, with actionable guidance for developers, researchers and policymakers.