Nutritional Combined Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Analysis for Incorporating Canadian Yellow Pea into Cereal-Based Food Products.

Abhishek Chaudhary,Denis Tremorin,Alexander Mathys,Christopher Marinangeli

doi:10.3390/nu10040490

Abhishek Chaudhary, Denis Tremorin + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10040490

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Abstract

Incorporating low cost pulses, such as yellow peas, that are rich in nutrients and low in fertilizer requirements, into daily food items, can improve the nutritional and sustainability profile of national diets. This paper systematically characterized the effect of using Canadian grown whole yellow pea and refined wheat flours on nutritional density and carbon footprint in cereal-based food products. Canada-specific production data and the levels of 27 macro- and micronutrients were used to calculate the carbon footprint and nutrient balance score (NBS), respectively, for traditional and reformulated pan bread, breakfast cereal, and pasta. Results showed that partial replacement of refined wheat flour with yellow pea flour increased the NBS of pan bread, breakfast cereal, and pasta by 11%, 70%, and 18%, and decreased the life cycle carbon footprint (kg CO2 eq/kg) by 4%, 11%, and 13%, respectively. The cultivation stage of wheat and yellow peas, and the electricity used during the manufacturing stage of food production, were the hotspots in the life cycle. The nutritional and greenhouse gas (GHG) data were combined as the nutrition carbon footprint score (NCFS) (NBS/g CO2 per serving), a novel indicator that reflects product-level nutritional quality per unit environmental impact. Results showed that yellow pea flour increased the NCFS by 15% for pan bread, 90% for breakfast cereal, and 35% for pasta. The results and framework of this study are relevant for food industry, consumers, as well as global and national policy-makers evaluating the effect of dietary change and food reformulation on nutritional and climate change targets.

Highlights

The global food demand is projected to increase by 70% by 2050 [1]
The increase in qualifying index (QI) facilitated an increase in the nutrition balance score (NBS, Equation (3)) across all foods, with the greatest increase observed in breakfast cereals followed by pasta and pan bread
Results from this study demonstrated that replacement of refined wheat flour with whole yellow pea flour can substantially decrease the carbon footprint and concurrently increase the nutritional density of commonly consumed processed vegetarian foods, such as pan bread, breakfast cereal, and pasta

Summary

Introduction

The global food demand is projected to increase by 70% by 2050 [1]. Providing sufficient food and adequate nutrition, while minimizing the impact of food systems on the environment for a growing population, has been identified as a formidable challenge. As pulses underpin significant environmental and nutritional benefits within the food value chain [2], increasing their consumption represents an opportunity to improve the nutritional density and sustainability of food systems worldwide. Pulses, lentils and peas, have been shown to improve the sustainability of cropping systems by breaking disease cycles, and improving soil health and soil fertility, as well as improving the yield and protein content of succeeding cereal crops [4].

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