RESUMEN
A 5-scale label that relativizes the environmental impact of a given product referred to the impact of the European food basket is proposed. It was developed based on the Product Environmental Footprint methodology with the following stepwise approach. First, a set of normalization and weighting factors were defined to aggregate all the environmental impact categories into a single dimensionless index referred to as the European food basket, coined the European Food Environmental Footprint Single Index (EFSI). Next, the effectiveness of the EFSI index was evaluated by assessing the distribution of the EFSI results on 149 hypothetical food items and comparing it with the results obtained with EC Single Score. Finally, the thresholds to translate the EFSI index into the 5-scale Enviroscore (A, B, C, D, and E) were established and validated using the Delphi method. Results indicated that both, Enviroscore and EFSI, were able to account for impact variability between and within food products. Differences on the final score were observed due to the type of products (vegetables vs. animal products), the country of origin and the mean of transportation. Regarding country of origin, results indicated that differences in water stress impact category were better captured by the EFSI index (r = 0.624) than by the EC Single Score (r = 0.228). Finally, good agreement achieved with the Delphi method (weighted Kappa 0.642; p = 0.0025), ensures the acceptability of the Enviroscore. In conclusion, this study developed a method to communicate environmental impact assessment in a front-of-packaging label.
RESUMEN
A 5-month experiment was performed to study the accumulation of several inorganic elements in tomato plants cultivated using organic or synthetic fertilizer. Plants were harvested in triplicate at six sampling dates during their life cycle. Statistical and chemometric analysis of data indicated the sequestration of toxic elements and of Na, Zn, Fe, and Co in roots, while the rest of the elements, including Cd, were mainly translocated to aboveground organs. A general decreasing trend in element concentrations with time was observed for most of them. A negative correlation between some element concentrations and ripening stage of fruits was identified. Conventionally grown plants seemed to accumulate more Cd and Tl in their tissues, while organic ones were richer in some nutrients. However, there was no clear effect of the fertilizer used (organic vs synthetic) on the elemental composition of fruits.