Evaluating Environmental Sustainability of Pasta Production through the Method LCA

Abstract

The recent policy of Green Deal aims to a transition towards ‘healthy, equitable and sustainable communities’. One of the key sectors analysed within the Green Deal is the agri-food chain, with the strategy ‘From Farm to Fork’, aiming to design a sustainable food system from production to consumption, passing through industry processing, distribution, and all the related activities. For the agricultural sector, the objectives are in line with those presented in the United Nations 2030 Agenda, from technologies and digitalization, to organic farming. Concerning the transformation and distribution phases, the Commission is promoting the technological and technical innovation, the restructuring of companies and the improvement of the quality of work. The aim of this study is to perform a Life Cycle Assessment related to one of the main products of a company in the agri-food sector in central Italy. The product analysed was durum wheat pasta. A cradle-to-gate analysis was performed, starting from the cultivation of the wheat, arriving at the final pasta product. Different transformation steps were evaluated (e.g., cleaning, grinding, compression, extrusion). The analysis was aimed to identify the most critical phases along the chain, to plan improvements in terms of efficiency of the production process, with consequent enhancement of the environmental performance.

Keywords

• agri-food chain
• environmental impacts
• life cycle assessment
• sustainable production.