Ikea, which as well as being the No.1 furniture retailer also runs one of the world's biggest restaurant chains, aims to halve its food waste in three years to save money and reduce its environmental footprint.

Daily food waste at each of the Swedish company's nearly 400 in-store self-service outlets, known for their trademark meatballs, averages some 300 kilograms, Ylva Magnusson, a spokeswoman for Ikea Food Services, said on Monday.