Resources, Conservation and Recycling: The utility of Life Cycle Assessment in the ready meal food industry

Scopus : "The complete production process for a canned ready meal, a stew product based on cooked pulses and pork meat cuts (sausages and ham), has been analyzed in a real factory using an LCA approach through its entire life cycle, with a cradle to grave perspective. Two different methodologies were applied for the impact assessment step in LCA: a problem-oriented method (midpoints) and a damage-oriented method (endpoints). The subsystems showing the highest environmental loads turned out to be food ingredients and solid waste management. The impact categories most affected by the production cycle of the ready meal were land use, fossil fuel consumption and water ecotoxicity.

An impact analysis of different packaging systems for the specific product, applicable to packaging selection, was performed, considering five alternative scenarios to tinplate cans."