Eco-design influence on the life cycle assessment of frozen cauliflower gnocchi: a comprehensive cradle-to-grave analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, when discussing agri-food products, it is important to talk about sustainable production methods. Environmental sustainability has become a production issue, especially when it comes to the design of a product, service, or process. Using frozen fresh cauliflower gnocchi marketed in different packaging and in different global areas as a case study, we aim to highlight the importance of the impact of product eco-design on the entire life cycle. RESULTS: The environmental impact of cauliflower gnocchi was assessed based on the life cycle assessment methodology. With the cradle-to-gate approach, the most influential factors are the cultivation, distribution, and packaging phases. Considering the cradle-to-grave approach, home storage has proven to be the most influential factor for a quarter of the entire life cycle of cauliflower gnocchi. The eco-design of packaging has demonstrated how, by analysing only the packaging, it is possible to achieve significant reductions in impact (-47%), but when compared with the entire life cycle these actions have no significant responsibility (approximately 10%). If, however, the field of action is broadened and eco-design solutions are sought to reduce the impact deriving from the conservation phase, the consumer has the ability, through their decisions, to reduce the impact relating to conservation as much as possible or to double the impact of the product life cycle. CONCLUSION: Overall, to promote prosperity while protecting the environment, according to Agenda 2030, the agri-food system must analyse the supply chains without neglecting any step involved in the life cycle of the product. The eco-design must go beyond the usual factors analysed and shall include downstream activities to aim for more sustainable products, including consumer behaviours, following the cradle-to-grave approach. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Is there mutual methodology among the environmental impact assessment studies of wine production chain? A systematic review.

When talking about environmental and sustainability topics, the wine sector plays a fundamental role ensuring that wine remains not only economically but also environmentally sustainable, hence the importance of conducting analyses to measure the impact of food production through Life Cycle Assessment tool. This paper aims to propose a systematic review of the LCA studies related to the grape and wine production chain providing both a qualitative and a quantitative analysis of methodologies used, and results proposed, as well as focusing the attention on carbon and water environmental indicators that can be evaluated using the LCA tool. Both the qualitative and the quantitative analysis showed a strong variability among the studies starting from the selection of the functional unit till the way the impact assessment is carried out. The results indicated the lack of homogeneity on the application of the LCA, emphasizing the need for deeper research on the wine sector. Based on the interpretation of the results, it was possible to identify the main drivers and barriers of the environmental impact assessment, allowing the contribution towards providing insights both for LCA practitioners and stakeholders of the wine sector. To this end, the main novelty of this work was to give an all-around view of the application of LCA tool in the wine sector providing a first step in the creation of a standardized procedure that harmonize the way a LCA study must be done. This opportunity would be a huge advantage for the scientific community, allowing the possibility to compare different wine production realities by using a globally recognized procedure without bias. Future research will have to focus on understanding and developing this scheme for enhancing the added value of the wine product.

Environmental Impact of Food Preparations Enriched with Phenolic Extracts from Olive Oil Mill Waste.

Reducing food waste as well as converting waste products into second-life products are global challenges to promote the circular economy business model. In this context, the aim of this study is to quantify the environmental impact of lab-scale food preparations enriched with phenolic extracts from olive oil mill waste, i.e., wastewater and olive leaves. Technological (oxidation induction time) and nutritional (total phenols content) parameters were considered to assess the environmental performance based on benefits deriving by adding the extracts in vegan mayonnaise, salad dressing, biscuits, and gluten-free breadsticks. Phenolic extraction, encapsulation, and addiction to the four food preparations were analyzed, and the input and output processes were identified in order to apply the life cycle assessment to quantify the potential environmental impact of the system analyzed. Extraction and encapsulation processes characterized by low production yields, energy-intensive and complex operations, and the partial use of chemical reagents have a non-negligible environmental impact contribution on the food preparation, ranging from 0.71% to 73.51%. Considering technological and nutritional aspects, the extraction/encapsulation process contributions tend to cancel out. Impacts could be reduced approaching to a scale-up process.

Application of visible/near infrared spectroscopy to quality control of fresh fruits and vegetables in large-scale mass distribution channels: a preliminary test on carrots and tomatoes.

BACKGROUND: The market for fruits and vegetables is mainly controlled by the mass distribution channel (MDC). MDC buyers do not have useful instruments to rapidly evaluate the quality of the products. Decisions by the buyers are driven primarily by pricing strategies rather than product quality. Simple, rapid and easy-to-use methods for objectively evaluating the quality of postharvest products are needed. The present study aimed to use visible and near-infrared (vis/NIR) spectroscopy to estimate some qualitative parameters of two low-price products (carrots and tomatoes) of various brands, as well as evaluate the applicability of this technique for use in stores. RESULTS: A non-destructive optical system (vis/NIR spectrophotometer with a reflection probe, spectral range 450-1650 nm) was tested. The differences in quality among carrots and tomatoes purchased from 13 stores on various dates were examined. The reference quality parameters (firmness, water content, soluble solids content, pH and colour) were correlated with the spectral readings. The models derived from the optical data gave positive results, in particular for the prediction of the soluble solids content and the colour, with better results for tomatoes than for carrots. CONCLUSION: The application of optical techniques may help MDC buyers to monitor the quality of postharvest products, leading to an effective optimization of the entire supply chain. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Potential effectiveness of visible and near infrared spectroscopy coupled with wavelength selection for real time grapevine leaf water status measurement.

BACKGROUND: Increasing attention is being paid to non-destructive methods for water status real time monitoring as a potential solution to replace the tedious conventional techniques which are time consuming and not easy to perform directly in the field. The objective of this study was to test the potential effectiveness of two portable optical devices (visible/near infrared (vis/NIR) and near infrared (NIR) spectrophotometers) for the rapid and non-destructive evaluation of the water status of grapevine leaves. Moreover, a variable selection methodology was proposed to determine a set of candidate variables for the prediction of water potential (Ψ, MPa) related to leaf water status in view of a simplified optical device. RESULTS: The statistics of the partial least square (PLS) models showed in validation R2 between 0.67 and 0.77 for models arising from vis/NIR spectra, and R2 ranged from 0.77 to 0.85 for the NIR region. The overall performance of the multiple linear regression (MLR) models from selected wavelengths was slightly worse than that of the PLS models. Regarding the NIR range, acceptable MLR models were obtained only using 14 effective variables (R2 range 0.63-0.69). CONCLUSION: To address the market demand for portable optical devices and heading towards the trend of miniaturization and low cost of the devices, individual wavelengths could be useful for the design of a simplified and low-cost handheld system providing useful information for better irrigation scheduling. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Testing of a simplified LED based vis/NIR system for rapid ripeness evaluation of white grape (Vitis vinifera L.) for Franciacorta wine.

The aim of this work was to test a simplified optical prototype for a rapid estimation of the ripening parameters of white grape for Franciacorta wine directly in field. Spectral acquisition based on reflectance at four wavelengths (630, 690, 750 and 850 nm) was proposed. The integration of a simple processing algorithm in the microcontroller software would allow to visualize real time values of spectral reflectance. Non-destructive analyses were carried out on 95 grape bunches for a total of 475 berries. Samplings were performed weekly during the last ripening stages. Optical measurements were carried out both using the simplified system and a portable commercial vis/NIR spectrophotometer, as reference instrument for performance comparison. Chemometric analyses were performed in order to extract the maximum useful information from optical data. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for a preliminary evaluation of the data. Correlations between the optical data matrix and ripening parameters (total soluble solids content, SSC; titratable acidity, TA) were carried out using partial least square (PLS) regression for spectra and using multiple linear regression (MLR) for data from the simplified device. Classification analysis were also performed with the aim of discriminate ripe and unripe samples. PCA, MLR and classification analyses show the effectiveness of the simplified system in separating samples among different sampling dates and in discriminating ripe from unripe samples. Finally, simple equations for SSC and TA prediction were calculated.

A Simplified, Light Emitting Diode (LED) Based, Modular System to be Used for the Rapid Evaluation of Fruit and Vegetable Quality: Development and Validation on Dye Solutions.

NIR spectroscopy has proven to be one of the most efficient and ready to transfer tools to monitor product's quality. Portable VIS/NIR instruments are particularly versatile and suitable for field use to monitor the ripening process or quality parameters. The aim of this work is to develop and evaluate a new simplified optoelectronic system for potential measurements on fruit and vegetables directly in the field. The development, characterization and validation of an operative prototype is discussed. LED technology was chosen for the design, and spectral acquisition at four specific wavelengths (630, 690, 750 and 850 nm) was proposed. Nevertheless, attention was given to the modularity and versatility of the system. Indeed, the possibility to change the light sources module with other wavelengths allows one to adapt the use of the same device for different foreseeable applications and objectives, e.g., ripeness evaluation, detection of particular diseases and disorders, chemical and physical property prediction, shelf life analysis, as well as for different natures of products (berry, leaf or liquid). Validation tests on blue dye water solutions have shown the capability of the system of discriminating low levels of reflectance, with a repeatability characterized by a standard deviation proportional to the measured intensity and in general limited to 2%-4%.

Rapid monitoring of grape withering using visible near-infrared spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND: Wineries need new practical and quick instruments, non-destructive and able to quantitatively evaluate during withering the parameters that impact product quality. The aim of the work was to test an optical portable system (visible near-infrared (NIR) spectrophotometer) in a wavelength range of 400-1000 nm for the prediction of quality parameters of grape berries during withering. RESULTS: A total of 300 red grape samples (Vitis vinifera L., Corvina cultivar) harvested in vintage year 2012 from the Valpolicella area (Verona, Italy) were analyzed. Qualitative (principal component analysis, PCA) and quantitative (partial least squares regression algorithm, PLS) evaluations were performed on grape spectra. PCA showed a clear sample grouping for the different withering stages. PLS models gave encouraging predictive capabilities for soluble solids content (R(2) val = 0.62 and ratio performance deviation, RPD = 1.87) and firmness (R(2) val = 0.56 and RPD = 1.79). CONCLUSION: The work demonstrated the applicability of visible NIR spectroscopy as a rapid technique for the analysis of grape quality directly in barns, during withering. The sector could be provided with simple and inexpensive optical systems that could be used to monitor the withering degree of grape for better management of the wine production process.

Monitoring of fresh-cut Valerianella locusta Laterr. shelf life by electronic nose and VIS-NIR spectroscopy.

The aim of this work was to investigate the applicability of non-destructive techniques in monitoring freshness decay of fresh-cut Valerianella locusta L. during storage at different temperature. The sampling was performed for 15 days for Valerianella samples preserved at 4 and 10 °C, and for 7 days for samples stored at 20 °C. The quality decay of samples was evaluated by quality parameters (pH, water content, total phenols, chlorophyll a fluorescence) and by non-destructive systems (electronic nose and visible-near infrared spectroscopy). Cluster Analysis (CA) was performed on quality indices and four clusters were identified, namely "fresh", "acceptable", "spoiled" and "very spoiled". Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied on the electronic nose data in order to evaluate the feasibility of this technique as a rapid and non-destructive approach for monitoring the freshness of fresh-cut Valerianella during storage. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and PLS-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were developed to test the performance of electronic nose and VIS-NIR, respectively, to classify samples in the four classes of freshness. The average value of samples correctly classified using LDA was 95.5% and the cross validation error rate was equal to 8.7%. The results obtained from PLS-DA models, in validation, gave a positive predictive value (PPV) of classification between 74% and 96%. Finally, predictive models were performed using Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression analysis between quality indices and VIS-NIR data. RPD values <3 were obtained for water content and pH. Excellent results were obtained for total phenols with Rcv(2) and RPD equal to 0.89 and 3.19, and for chlorophyll a fluorescence with Rcv(2) and RPD equal to 0.92 and 3.22, respectively. Results demonstrated that electronic nose and VIS-NIR are complementary techniques able to support the conventional techniques in the shelf-life assessment of fresh-cut V. locusta L. providing information useful for a better management of the product along the distribution chain.