A life cycle assessment of snack bar prototypes created with ingredients compatible with the mediterranean diet

Abstract

Healthy nutrition is of great importance to maintain the physical and mental health of individuals. In recent years, products such as snack bars have become widely used to encourage healthy eating habits. This study compared the environmental footprints of four snack bar prototypes that adhere to the Mediterranean diet (MD) through a life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is used to calculate an environmental footprint, encompassing six impact categories: Global Warming Potential (GWP), Abiotic Depletion (AD), Human Toxicity (Cancer (HTC) and Non-Cancer Effects (HTNC)), land use (LU), and water use (WU). The total impacts were as follows (prototypes 1-4, respectively): GWP 0.221/0.224/0.234/0.194 kg CO2-eq; AD 2.35/2.87/2.63/2.01 MJ; HTC 9.13 x 10-10/7.69 x 10-10/9.82 x 10-10/9.88 x 10-10 CTUh; HTNC 1.03 x 10-8/1.51 x 10-9/4.16 x 10-9/3.03 x 10-9 CTUh; LU 14.8/21.6/21.8/10.8; WU 0.132/0.287/0.198/0.068 m3. Prototype 4, which yielded the lowest value across four indicators (GWP, AD, LU, and WU), is the most environmentally favorable. A range of 89-91% of the GWP originates from raw material production, while the share attributed to transportation is 3-4%. Nuts and dried fruit contents are decisive for WU and LU. The findings suggest that environmental impacts are highly sensitive to ingredient composition and agricultural inputs, and that selecting raw materials and optimizing the supply chain is critical for mitigation.