Avaliação de Ciclo de Vida Aplicada a uma Fábrica de Bolos: Estudo de caso em João Pessoa, Paraíba

Abstract

The consumer market is increasingly interested in products whose process is associated with environmental preservation and social development. In the food sector, the search for healthy food is increasing, which is confirmed by the success of products that show their differentials through labeling, showing the growing consumer interest in changes in food production and processing. What we eat also has a climatic impact, the food carbon footprint comprises the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced in the stages of cultivation, processing, packaging and transportation of these products. A lot of factors contributes to the carbon footprint of a determined food: the amount of energy necessary to its production, the amount of chemicals used (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc.), transportation, etc. Thus, choosing one nutrient, or another, affects not only our health but also the environment. In this context, eco-labels appear as an alternative to help the consumer in their decision-making, thus contributing to the formation of a sustainable food production system. The objective of this article is to calculate the monthly carbon footprint associated with two cake flavors: English and carrot, using SimaPro software. It was considered a small food factory, whose monthly production was 7,580 cakes, which it is in Joao Pessoa/ Paraiba. For the monthly production of an English-type cake (468 units/ month) the ingredients, energy and water consumption and transport for the distribution of cakes were counted. For the monthly production of a carrot type cake (196 units/ month) the ingredients, energy and water consumption and transport for the distribution of cakes were counted. Also it was included in the analyses the packaging of the product. The carbon footprint for a carrot cake unit was 0.91 kg CO2-eq (0.84•10-3 kg CO2-eq/kcal) and for an English-type cake unit was 1.52 kg CO2-eq (1.36•10-3 kg CO2- eq/kcal). It was observed that the eggs were responsible for the highest share in the emissions.