Here's What Domino's Does With Unsold Pizza

If you've ever wondered what happens when someone doesn't show up to collect their Domino's pizza order, if an order is canceled at the last minute, or a pizza is prepared incorrectly and doesn't pass quality check, you're not alone. With all the different styles of Domino's pizza, plus the sheer amount of pies the chain cooks every single day (4 million globally, to be exact — it is one of the the best fast food pizzas, after all!), it is fair to wonder what the company's policy on surplus is. However, the answer isn't as straightforward as it seems.

This discussion picked up a bit of traction after a Domino's employee shared photos on Reddit (in a now deleted post) showing a tower of unused dough trays that was destined to be thrown out. According to this employee, their management had said the dough couldn't be donated because it went against company rules, and this sparked off a bigger discussion, with other Domino's workers sharing how things are handled in their own stores.

But while these anecdotes paint a picture, any one universal truth is more difficult to pin down simply because Domino's stores are majority franchises, and so their policies will differ. Some employees say that any remade pizzas, canceled orders, or pies with minor mistakes are just set aside for staff to eat during their shift. On rare occasions, staff may even keep the surplus pizzas on a warming rack for a bit, just in case a matching order comes through, and failing that, they go to staff. 

So while there are lots of extra pizzas that end up feeding employees, a fact that is likely appreciated on a busy shift, some employees on Reddit explain that their stores may indeed donate the food at the end of the day — taking surplus pizzas to homeless shelters, women's shelters, police stations, and fire departments. However, Domino's doesn't have a company-wide donation policy on unsold pizzas, and it's likely that some stores may simply throw them away due to the tricky nature of handling leftovers. For example, per the FDA Food Code, hot food needs to be kept at a safe temperature (135 degrees Fahrenheit or above) for donation, so restaurants need to be equipped to store and transport food at this temp. 

Giving unsold pizzas away to other customers as freebies may also not be smart from the business perspective. Some comments on Reddit describe incidents where people have placed fake orders, waited for the pizzas to be abandoned, then returned later hoping to collect free unclaimed food — an easy way to abuse a system when it's too generous. So, the answer is simply varied. The company itself claims to prioritize minimal food and operational waste by using inventory tracking and forecasting tools, but what happens to a canceled, unclaimed, or mistaken pizza is generally left to the individual store.