Ana Fernández-Ríos , Laura Batlle Bayer, Sahar Azarkamand, Jara Laso , Pere Fullana-i-Palmer , Alba Bala, Rita Puig , Rubén Aldaco, María Margallo 

Abstract

Alternative protein sources (APSs) have emerged as a potentially healthy and, presumably, environmentally sustainable solution for meeting future food demand. Here we develop a new complex nutrient profile model to assess the nutritional quality of protein-rich foods, which, concurrently, allows to evaluate their environmental implications efficiently through the application of life cycle assessment (LCA). The development of the index was guided by the identification of priority nutrients in APSs and main deficiencies of similar models, which gave rise to the ‘quality Nutrient Rich Food 1.10.2’ (qNRF1.10.2). This model is the first nutrient profile system that combines various essential nutrients and a protein quality scoring system, namely Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS). From a nutritional perspective, its accuracy was proven and its application identified animal products as the most nutritionally complete food group, surpassing plant-based alternatives. However, when using the index as functional unit in LCA of protein-rich foods, we discovered that seeds, nuts, and mixtures of vegetable foods reported the lowest environmental impacts as a function of their nutrient density. Some exceptions were found for algae or insects, which performed worse than animal-derived foods in terms of resources consumption, or for cereals, which shown an important water deprivation potential. These results suggest that we should find a trade-off between the production of emerging and conventional foodstuffs, and that main environmental issues of each region should condition the location of production systems.

Sahar Azarkamand , Ana Fernández Ríos , Laura Batlle-Bayer , Alba Bala , Ilija Sazdovski , Mercè Roca , María Margallo , Rubén Aldaco , Jara Laso , Rita Puig , Rosa Cantero , Pere Fullana-i-Palmer 

Abstract

The food sector is responsible for a great part of the environmental impact of our society (for instance, according to the UN, about a third of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions are linked to this sector) and protein sources, as one of the main food groups, have a particularly significant impact on the environment. Understanding the environmental and economic impacts of dietary choices is crucial, especially proteins choices, a main food source. Market prices alone do not comprehensively represent the true costs for society. True Cost Accounting is a methodology that quantifies the comprehensive economic, environmental, and social costs. Calculating the hidden environmental costs of the different alternative proteins helps to inform the public about the environmental consequences of their dietary choices. Adjusted prices, which integrate market prices with hidden environmental costs of protein alternative sources, including both animal-based and plant-based options, were estimated. In determining the true cost of proteins, assigning monetary values to environmental impacts is essential. Calculating environmental costs and adjusting the price of proteins provide a more accurate reflection of their true cost by accounting for the environmental externalities associated with protein production. A life cycle approach was applied, considering both a conventional mass-based functional unit and a proposed protein-content-based functional unit, which integrates the source's efficiency to deliver protein nutrient. In a mass-based calculation, beef and lamb production consistently demonstrate the highest adjusted costs, amounting to 33.72€ per kg of source, while plant-based protein sources typically exhibit lower adjusted costs, with an average of 12.31€ per kg of source. In between, seafood ranks fourth at 26.41€ per kg of source.
However, when the calculation of the adjusted price is based on real protein content, seafood commands the highest value, reaching 179.97€ per kg of protein, whereas beef and lamb drop to the third position at 131.76€ per kg of protein, and plant-based options Increase to 116.32€ per kg of protein. In summary, our study emphasizes the significance of informed dietary choices that account for both environmental sustainability and economic factors, and the need to use proper methodologies for the quantitative accounting. Further research is necessary to include social dimensions in the study, given their current unmeasurability due to complexity and limited information.

Ilija Sazdovski, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Alba Bala; María Margallo, Sahar Azarkamand, Rubén Aldaco, Pere Fullana-i-Palmer

Abstract

Sustainable packaging is a crucial focus in the context of circular economy efforts. This study evaluates the circularity of two secondary packaging systems used in Spanish fresh food produces: Reusable Plastic Crates and Single-use Cardboard Boxes. A Mass Flow Analysis was performed to assess the material flows in the production and use phases of both systems and two circular indicators were applied: the Material Circularity Indicator and Product Circular Indicator. While most previous studies for single-use packaging use these indicators at the product level, this study applies a system approach since the Reusable Plastic Crates can be reused 100 times. The functional unit was defined as the distribution of 1,000 tonnes of fresh products, resulting in the distribution of 6,666,700 packages with 15 kg of products. The Material Circularity Indicator and Product Circular Indicator results show that Reusable Plastic Crate is more circular than Single-use Cardboard Boxes. The Product Circular Indicator provides a more comprehensive assessment of circularity by considering multiple life cycle stages, efficiency, and unrecoverable waste, resulting in a difference in circularity evaluations. The indicators used have limitations as they do not consider the resource stock. Further research is needed to explore this aspect.

Nicoleta Cîrstea (Laz?r), Violeta Nour, Andrei Iulian Boruzi

This paper reports on the development of new emulsion gels containing a mixture of olive, chia and algae oil emulsified with soy protein isolate and stabilized by two different cold gelling agents, gelatin (EGEL) and chitosan (ECHIT), and to evaluate their potential use as pork backfat replacers in cooked pork patties. Reformulated patties were produced by half and full pork backfat replacement and compared to normal fat patties and reduced fat content patties made by replacing half of the added fat with water. Color parameters, pH and thermal stability of the emulsion gels were determined at processing and after 10 days of refrigerated storage. Proximate composition, fatty acid profile, technological properties and sensory attributes were evaluated after patty processing, while color parameters, pH and lipid oxidation were monitored in patties during 15 days of refrigerated storage (4 °C). Reformulated patties showed significant improvements of the lipid profile (lower saturated fatty acid content and n-6/n-3 ratio and higher long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content) as compared to the controls. In terms of technological properties, chitosan was more effective than gelatin as a stabilizer of the emulsion gel. All reformulated patties showed a good evolution of lipid oxidation during storage and acceptable sensory attributes.

Purpose

The main purpose of this article is to assess the nutritional and economic efficiency of food loss and waste (FLW) along the supply of 13 food categories included in the Spanish food basket by means of the definition of a new method which combines two indexes.

Methods

The nutrient-rich foods index and the economic food loss and waste (EFLW) index were combined by means of linear programming to obtain the nutritional cost footprint (NCF) indicator under a life cycle perspective. The functional unit used was the daily supply of food for a Spanish citizen in year 2015.

Results and discussion

Results showed that vegetables and cereals were the food categories most affected by the inefficiencies in the food supply chain under a nutritional perspective, being agricultural production and household consumption the main stages in which the nutritional content of food is lost or wasted. Moreover, according to the NCF index, vegetables represented 27% of total nutritional-economic wastage throughout the entire Spanish agri-food chain. They are followed by fruits, which add up to 19%. Hence, specific food waste management strategies should be established for these specific products and supply stages. Finally, the sensitivity analysis performed highlighted that results were mostly independent from the importance attributed to either nutritional or economic variables.

Conclusions

The methodology described in this study proposes an indicator quantifying the nutritional-economic cost of different food categories in the Spanish food basket. This NCF indicator makes it possible to define reduction strategies to promote the use of food waste fractions for waste-to-energy valorization approaches or the extraction of different types of pharmacological, chemical, or cosmetic compounds.

El objetivo principal de WASTE4GREEN es mitigar los efectos adversos sobre el Medio Ambiente y la Salud Humana de los pesticidas de origen químico que se utilizan actualmente en la protección del cultivo de fruta de hueso. Se demostrará la eficacia de 2 formulados de origen natural, seguros y sostenibles, cuyas materias activas se obtendrán a partir de residuos agroindustriales, que permitirán sustituir a los pesticidas de origen químico que se emplean en frutales de hueso. Los formulados serán susceptibles de ser comercializados en la UE en las etapas posteriores al proyecto.

Temática

Control de plagas, ACV.

Financiación

LIFE (Unión Europea)

Descripción

El objetivo principal de WASTE4GREEN es mitigar los efectos adversos sobre el Medio Ambiente y la Salud Humana de los pesticidas de origen químico que se utilizan actualmente en la protección del cultivo de fruta de hueso.

Se demostrará la eficacia de 2 formulados de origen natural, seguros y sostenibles, cuyas materias activas se obtendrán a partir de residuos agroindustriales, que permitirán sustituir a los pesticidas de origen químico que se emplean en frutales de hueso. Los formulados serán susceptibles de ser comercializados en la UE en las etapas posteriores al proyecto.

Este objetivo está alineado con la política ambiental de la UE en materia de productos químicos, principalmente el Reglamento (CE) n.º 1907/2006 (REACH) y la Directiva 2009/128/CE. Dentro del Marco Básico de política ambiental de la UE, WASTE4GREEN encaja en algunos de los objetivos del Programa General de Acción de la Unión en materia de Medio Ambiente hasta 2020 y de la Hoja de ruta hacia una Europa eficiente en el uso de los recursos.

Los objetivos específicos de este proyecto son los siguientes:

• Demostrar que el uso de los 2 formulados bioactivos resultantes es más seguro para el medio ambiente y la salud humana que el uso de los fitosanitarios de origen químico, ya que potencialmente presentan una menor toxicidad que los pesticidas convencionales.
• Demostrar que, tanto los extractos como los formulados finales, tienen capacidad biocida frente a las plagas y enfermedades diana de los frutales de hueso.
• Demostrar que la efectividad de los formulados es replicable y transferible en otros cultivos y países de la UE.
• Mejorar la seguridad alimentaria, al producir fruta libre de residuos.
• Asegurar el acopio de la biomasa residual seleccionada como materia prima y el escalado a nivel piloto de la extracción de los componentes bioactivos.
• Determinar las sinergias entre los principios activos de los extractos naturales.

Project description:

The relationship between a healthy diet and sustainable food consumption has been addressed in recent years by some research groups. However, the results of their studies have highlighted the need to delve deeper into the synergies and trade-offs that may exist between choosing healthier diets and the effects that the production, distribution, and consumption of their components may have on the environment, economy, and society.

To address this challenge, the project will analyze the consumption patterns of Spanish citizens by establishing different types of diets (e.g., vegetarian, vegan, "American", etc.) and comparing them to the recommended Mediterranean diet. The determination of these alternative diets will be based on information available from MAGRAMA reports, FAO reports, and the Mediterranean Diet Foundation, as well as the prior knowledge of the working group, especially the UC-Nutrition team. Other experts will also be consulted when necessary.

Once the diets are defined, their nutritional contributions and associated risks of chronic diseases will be analyzed in detail. This analysis will follow a similar approach to the analysis of food waste (O2.3), adhering to EU recommendations and using information from food composition databases (EUROFIR-Food Composition Database). Micro- and macronutrients relevant to human nutrition will be selected, considering the recommended daily intake. Based on this information and reports from institutions like the FAO, a health and nutrition report will be developed for each selected diet.

An environmental analysis will then be conducted following the LCA methodology in accordance with the ISO 14.040 series, applying the ENVIFOOD Protocol and the ILCD Handbook (the most recent international consensus on LCA methodology). Data sources for this study will include LCA results from food groups conducted in Subproject 1, as well as existing food environmental inventory databases (such as the World Food LCA Database) and commercial databases (like Ecoinvent or GaBi). A sensitivity analysis of the diets will also be carried out by modifying certain foods (e.g., substituting rice for potatoes as a carbohydrate source), maintaining the recommended daily intake, and performing a Monte Carlo analysis to assess result uncertainty.

Another aspect that will be addressed is the socio-economic analysis associated with the widespread adoption of a healthier and more environmentally sustainable diet across different actors in the food value chain (farmers, processors, distributors, etc.), including both direct and indirect costs. For this, the social cost-benefit analysis methodology will be used.

Once the nutritional, health, environmental, and socio-economic results associated with the analyzed diets are obtained, a set of sustainability indicators will be developed. The development of these indicators will be based on the recommendations of the ISO 14.030 series, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the European Union’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organization Environmental Footprint (OEF) pilot tests.

Budget: 108.900,00€

Project reference: CTM2016-76176-C2-2-R  funded by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033/ and “ERDF A way of making Europe 

Call: Convocatorias 2016,  ayudas a proyectos de I+D+I correspondientes al Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad, en el marco del Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016. 

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