Examinando por Autor "Alonso Vicario, Ainhoa"

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    Carbon and water footprint of food loss and waste prevention actions: cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of a prepared salad
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2025-04-10) Amador Cervera, Manuel; Scherhaufer, Silvia; Gollnow, Sebastian; Alonso Vicario, Ainhoa
    Food loss and waste (FLW) represents a major challenge for sustainable development. FLW prevention actions are proliferating, but key gaps persist in assessing their actual net environmental benefits, particularly in prevention at the point of generation. Additionally, data transparency is still a key issue. This study aims to assess the environmental impacts avoided by 5 groups of FLW prevention actions implemented in a prepared salad case study in Spain. Additionally, 4 different salad recipes are analysed, so that the influence of ingredient composition on the effectiveness of FLW prevention actions is accounted for as well. A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to have a holistic view of the real impacts across the entire system. The methodology involves an identification and characterisation of the points of FLW generation, enabling a more precise estimation of the FLW that can be reduced through prevention actions. Results indicate that innovative governance solutions yield the most positive impacts, avoiding climate change impacts by 9.8 and water use by 8.80 %. The salad with higher proportions of animal-based ingredients experienced the largest impact reductions. These findings highlight areas for targeted prevention efforts for decision makers. Primary production generated the most environmental impacts coming from FLW. However, the holistic perspective taken demonstrated that effective prevention should focus on downstream points of generation. In conclusion, the presented LCA approach accurately identifies the most promising FLW prevention opportunities to improve the environmental performance of food products. The enhanced data transparency improves accuracy and promotes openness and accountability in LCA and FLW research
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    The FOODRUS index: assessing suitability for effective food loss and waste prevention management under an integral perspective
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2024-04) Amador Cervera, Manuel; Angarita Zapata, Juan S.; Calle, Alberto de la; Alonso Vicario, Ainhoa
    The impact of food loss and waste (FLW) generation on food supply chains' (FSC) sustainability represents a challenge embodied in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3. This problem requires a methodology to measure such an impact in a rigorous, holistic, and standardized way that can be applied to any FSC. This paper aims to develop and validate a single index to assess the readiness of FSCs to implement FLW prevention strategies and measure their impact: the so-called FOODRUS index. The co-creation methodology followed incorporates experts and FSC stakeholders feedback. The index has been validated in 3 FSCs: The Slovak pilot scored 74.35%, the Spanish pilot reached 68.79%, and the Danish pilot was rated 61.14%. Its calculation, eased by the FOODRUS index self-assessment tool (described in the Appendix), allows quick diagnosis of the FSC capability to implement FLW prevention strategies considering both the knowledge provided by experts and the experience of the FSC stakeholders that participated in its co-creation process. In this way the FSC can assess its FLW prevention performance at a strategic and management level, with the aim of improving its sustainability impact.