34 XKW HAMPSHIRE EXPERIMENT STATION [Bull. 261 



fat. When the visible fat has been removed, the air-dry weight of the 

 rest of the waste should be considered to have aa average caloric value 

 of 5 calories per grain. Ob\iously in the collection of table waste, fruit 

 stones and other unquestionably inedible material that maj' have been 

 served with the food should not be included. In the majority of cases 

 such inedible refuse would represent but a small percentage of the total 

 day's table waste, but as a degree of refinement in the calculation of the 

 energy value of edible waste such removal is warranted. 



SUMMARY 



Samples of mixed meals and edible waste from one fraternity house 

 and two sorority houses were analyzed for their energy and protein con- 

 tent. Modifications made in the oxy-calorimeter for the better control 

 of temperature during combustions are described, and the method of 

 sampling is discussed briefly. 



At the fraternity house samples of edible waste from breakfasts, 

 dinners, and suppers were collected for one week. The edible waste per 

 meal contained 112 calories and 3.8 grams of protein, or 11 and 10 per 

 cent, respectively, of the energy and the protein content of the total 

 food served. At one of the sorority houses samples of edible waste 

 from lunches and dinners were collected during a two-week period. On 

 the average per meal this waste contained 26 calories and 1 gram of 

 protein, or 3 and 4 per cent, respectively, of the energy and the protein 

 content of the food served. At the second sorority house samples of 

 mixed meals (lunch and dinner) were collected for nearly a month. At 

 this same house and during the same time the food wasted at breakfast, 

 lunch, and dirmer by four different students was collected, and a daily 

 record was kept by each student of the food served her at table and 

 that eaten away from table. From the data thus secured it was found 

 that the amount of waste varied greatly with the individual. Thus, the 

 protein wasted per day at table amounted on the average to from 11 to 

 27 per cent of the total protein served, and the food energy wasted 

 amounted to from 12 to 21 per cent of the total food energy served at 

 table. This seemingly large w:iste of really well-prepared and well- 

 served food is undoubtedly explained by the consumption of extra foods 

 which, as our study shows, corresponded to from 13 to 29 per cent of 

 the total energy intake per day. 



One hundred and four samples of mixed meals collected at the two 

 sorority houses had an average euerg>- value of 4.7 calories per gram of 

 air-dry weight. One hundred and seventy samples of mixed meals col- 

 lected in an earlier research in the same college community and includ- 

 ing meals at restaunmts and cafeterias also had an average energy value 

 per gram of air-dry weight of 4.7 calories. Sixty-three samples of edible 

 wa^te, collected at the two sorority houses and at the fraternity house, 

 averaged 5.0 calories per gram of air-dry matter. The energy factor for 

 samples containing visible fat was appreciably greater than 5. It is rec- 

 oinniended that the energy content of edible table waste (as distin- 



