Cristiana Peano

From "farm to fork" strawberry system: current realities and potential innovative scenarios from life cycle assessment of non-renewable energy use and green house gas emissions.

In this study, we analysed the environmental profile of the strawberry industry in Northern Italy. The analysis was conducted using two scenarios as reference systems: strawberry crops grown in unheated plastic tunnels using currently existing cultivation techniques, post-harvest management practices and consumption patterns (scenario 1) and the same strawberry cultivation chain in which some of the materials used were replaced with bio-based materials (scenario 2). In numerous studies, biodegradable polymers have been shown to be environmentally friendly, thus potentially reducing environmental impacts. These materials can be recycled into carbon dioxide and water through composting. Many materials, such as Mater-BI® and PLA®, are also derived from renewable resources. The methodology chosen for the environmental analysis was a life cycle assessment (LCA) based on a consequential approach developed to assess a products overall environmental impact from the production system to its usage and disposal. In the field stage, a traditional mulching film (non-biodegradable) could be replaced with a biodegradable product. This change would result in waste production of 0 kg/ha for the bio-based product compared to 260 kg/ha of waste for polyethylene (PE). In the post-harvest stage, the issue addressed was the use and disposal of packaging materials. The innovative scenario evaluated herein pertains to the use of new packaging materials that increase the shelf life of strawberries, thereby decreasing product losses while increasing waste management efficiency at the level of a distribution platform and/or sales outlet. In the event of product deterioration or non-sale of the product, the packaging and its contents could be collected together as organic waste without any additional processes because the packaging is compostable according to EN13432. Scenario 2 would achieve reductions of 20% in the global warming potential and non-renewable energy impact categories.

An Evaluating Technique for Variety Compatibility of Fruit Applied to a near Infrared Brix Calibration System: A Case Study Using Brix Calibration for Nectarines:

In a practical near infrared (NIR) sweetness sorting facility, there is a high possibility that the variety of incoming fruit will be different from the one(s) used to develop a calibration model. In this kind of situation, significant bias could occur and result in a high price difference. In this work, a method to identify whether the pre-installed calibration models could be used to predict Brix values of the unknown samples or not was established. Two kinds of calibration model for Brix determination of nectarines were examined, one developed from spectra of the single nectarine variety called Big Bang Maillarà (BB), the other developed from spectra of two nectarine varieties, BB and Nectaross (NT). Another variety called Sweet Red (SR) was used to demonstrate the situation of an unknown sample or a different variety. For the general biases evaluation, significant biases occurred in the SR samples whether the prediction was done using the BB calibration (bias = −6.74°Brix) or the BB+NT calibration (bias = −3.09°Brix). A survey using score plots of principle component analysis (PCA) indicated that the characteristics of the BB and the SR samples were quite different from each other, while the NT samples were located in between. Even though the trend of differences between the PCA scores of the three varieties could be observed, a clear classification result could not be obtained. Another classification attempt was made using soft independent model for classification analogy (SIMCA). For each calibration (BB and BB+NT), a SIMCA model was developed using the samples used to develop the calibration model. A calculation was performed to evaluate whether the unknown samples (BB, NT and SR) were in the same class as the calibration sample or not. It was found that, in the case of the single variety calibration where the SIMCA model was also developed from the single variety (BB), clear identification of unfitted samples could be obtained with classification accuracy more than 95% (false negative 0%). However, in the case of the two varieties calibration, the use of a SIMCA box developed from two varieties would make the in-class distance become too wide and this reduced the classification accuracy of unfitted samples (false negatives = 74%). The solution was to develop two SIMCA boxes, one for BB and one for NT, then examine the compatibility of unknown samples twice. Using this technique, satisfactory classification results with false negatives of 10% could be obtained.

Effects of packaging and storage conditions on quality and volatile compounds of raspberry fruits

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) has been found to extend the shelf life of raspberries, but temperature fluctuations could result in quality and aroma changes. Fruits cv. Himbo Top were evaluated after wrapping with biodegradable and polypropylene (PP) films under passive and active MAP conditions for 96 h (48 h at 1°C followed by 48 h at 18°C). A PP macro-perforated film was used as control. After 48 h the biodegradable film maintained fruit colour parameters near to harvest value (L 26.9 and 27.6, respectively for passive and active atmospheres) and, as the temperature increased, it was the only film used that facilitated storage of fruit for up to 96 h (24.4–25.9 kPa of CO2). Qualitative and quantitative differences were found in the initial 54 volatile compounds; after 96 h raspberries stored under passive and active MAP showed a similar aroma profile, mainly dominated by terpenes (73 and 62%, respectively).

Innovation strategies in a fruit growers association impacts assessment by using combined LCA and s-LCA methodologies.

In the challenging world of territorial transformations within the agriculture, there is an increasing need for an integrated methodological framework of assessment that is able to reconcile the demand for solutions that are both economically sustainable and contribute to environmental and social improvement. This study aims to assess the introduction of innovation into agro-food systems by combining an environmental life cycle (LCA) assessment and a social life cycle assessment (s-LCA) to support the decision making process of a fruit growers co-op for the adoption of mulching and covering in raspberry farming. LCA and s-LCA have been applied independently under specific consistency requirements, selecting two scenarios to compare the impact with (1) and without (2) the innovation and then combined within a cause-effect chain. The interactions between the environment and socioeconomic components were considered within a nested frameset of business and territorial features. The total emissions from raspberry production in Scenario 1, according to the Global Warming Potential (GWP) Impact Category amounted to 2.2840kg of CO2 eq. In Scenario 2, the impact of production was associated with a GWP of 0.1682kg of CO2 eq. Social repercussions analysis from Scenario 1 compared to Scenario 2 indicate more satisfaction for working conditions and the management of climate risks. The mulching and covering, implemented within a given framework of farm activity, created conditions for the preservation of a model in which raspberry production contributes to landscape protection, the business sustainability of farms and the creation of employment. The combined use of the two methods contributes to the development of a strategy planning due to its ability to deliver, as well as specific analysis at a functional level, a wider framework for assessing the consistency of the impacts related to innovation in raspberry production.

Sustainable supply-chain: evolution of the quality characteristics of strawberries stored in green film packaging

ABSTRACT The use of green materials in the packaging can drive the choice of fresh fruits by the consumers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of green wrapping films for use in passive modified atmosphere packaging for the storage of strawberries (cv. Portola) for 7 days at 1 ± 1°C followed by an additional 2 days at 20 ± 1°C. One commercial polypropylene macro-perforated film (control) and three non-commercial biodegradable and compostable films (prototypes, Novamont, Novara, Italy) (films 1, 2 and 3) were used. The best headspace gas composition was obtained with film 1; a steady state was rapidly reached and this equilibrium was maintained for up to 5 days, with a composition of 17.60–18.50% O2 and 5.30–5.60% CO2. The sensorial evaluation of film 1 also yielded the best scores in terms of condensation, taste, marketability and redness of the fruits during shelf storage (at 20 ± 1°C).

Quality Effect of Ozone Treatment for the Red Raspberries Storage

The improvement of the storage solutions and the infrastructure is a significant opportunity to the management of the post harvest fruit losses and the maintenance of the quality in the supply chain. The environmental issue and the sustainability of the applied processes are the key of the succesful for the innovation of the food system; the sanification of the storage environment could represent a good opportunity to achieve this objective. The focus of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of the ozone (O3) such environmental sanitization system to limit both the quantitative and the qualitative losses of the raspberry fruits. Fruits exposed to the O3 constant concentration of 500 ppb (S1) and to the O3 concentration between 200 and 50 ppb (S2) were compared with fruits maintained in the normal atmosphere (control). The efficacy of the S1 and S2 treatments were evaluated measuring along the storage time the fruits weight losses (%), the total soluble solids content (SSC), the pulp firmness, the acidity content, the skin colour and the most important nutraceutical compounds. The fruits were stored at 1±1°C in a cold room held at 90–95% RH for 3, 6, 9 and 13 days. After each time at low temperature the same berries were held in shelf life for different additional days (respectively +6, +3, +9 and +2) at 20±1°C to simulate retailer conditions. All the qualitative and nutraceutical traits were maintained to the exposure of O3. Fruits stored with the S2 treatment showed the highest sensorial profile.

Qualitative Performance and Consumer Acceptability of Starch Films for the Blueberry Modified Atmosphere Packaging Storage

Abstract The sustainability of packaging is an important part of food system innovation and it can influence the purchase decision for the fresh produce. In this work, we evaluated the qualitative performance and the consumer acceptability of three starch films for the blueberry modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) storage under fluctuating temperatures. Fruits cv. Duke were monitored for up to 18 days (15 days at 1±1°C and 3 days at 20±1°C). The respiration rate of the blueberries and the permeability of the films affect the initial atmospheric composition (0.2 kPa CO2 and 21.2 kPa O2) inside each package influencing the headspace gas composition and the quality parameters of the fruits. The F3 film has better controlled O2 values inside the packages up until the end of storage (5.7 kPa) and it maintained the highest anthocyanin content (156.21 mg C3G/100 g FW) and antioxidant capacity (22.18 Fe2+/kg) of fruits at 20±1°C.

Improving Storability of Strawberries with Gaseous Chlorine Dioxide in Perforated Clamshell Packaging

Abstract A chlorine dioxide generating pad has been used as postharvest treatment to maintain the quality and safety of strawberries in two different storage conditions. During the short storage time (3 days at 4°C + 2 days at 20°C) fruit treated with ClO2 maintained better quality parameters, as color, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, anthocyanins, antioxidant capacity and lower values of weight loss. During the long storage time (12 days at 2°C), the parameters related to postharvest quality were generally preserved and the effect of ClO2 was positive to reduce the total yeast and mold, except the last period of the experiment when the ClO2 gas-generating pad was probably exhausted. The sensory evaluation revealed that the sanitization with ClO2 maintained a global positive acceptance in particular during the short storage time. The results suggest that this treatment may be suitable to maintain the quality during short storage and long storage until 8 days and it may be an important alternative sanitizer thanks to the positive action against the yeast and mold without modifying the quality of the strawberries.

Introduction to Part II: AFNs from the Consumer’s Viewpoint

The subchapters analyse the role of consumers and their purchasing choices from different angles. All approaches acknowledge that AFNs are deeply shaped by agents’ intrinsic motivation and by the role of interpersonal relationships, but their understandings of these dimensions differ. In the economic approach, other-regarding motives are relevant as “different” arguments of the utility function but do not cancel out the relevance of budget constraints. The anthropological approach views AFNs and consumer choices as an expression of opposition to the industrialized and globalized agro-food sector. The sociological approach underscores the importance of intrinsically motivated choices, but also acknowledges the role of situational constraints. Lastly, the environmental approach illustrates that unlike consumers’ view, AFNs are not necessarily more ecologically sustainable than conventional chains, when objectively measured.

Multidisciplinary Approaches to Alternative Food Networks

In this chapter, Corsi, Barbera, Dansero, Orlando, and Peano present the general theoretical framework for the research described in this volume. They discuss the concept of Alternative Food Networks as presented in the literature and the criteria of “alternativeness” on which it is based (length of the chain, local origin, embeddedness), arguing that the main factor that determines whether a chain can be considered alternative is the quality of the exchange relationship, that is, the fact that in AFNs the exchange is not only a question of selling a commodity for money, but produces benefits in itself. They review the current approaches to AFNs in different disciplines—economics, sociology, geography, anthropology, and environmental sciences—and present the approach followed in this book.