Explaining the Differences between the Environmental Impacts of 44 French Artisanal Cheeses

Adeline Cortesi, Laure Dijoux, Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris and Caroline Pénicaud
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Adeline Cortesi: Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France
Laure Dijoux: Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France
Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris: Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France
Caroline Pénicaud: Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: Cheese production causes significant environmental impacts, which have to be reduced. In France, a lot of different cheeses are available, made from different milks but also from different cheese technologies. The goal of this study was to understand the origin of the environmental impact variation between cheeses made from different technologies and milks and produced using different ripening practices. To do so, the environmental impacts of 44 different types of French artisanal cheese, all produced under protected designation of origin (PDO) labels, were assessed using the life cycle assessment. Cheese technologies were fully described and two ripening scenarios were investigated. Results show that the differences of environmental impacts between cheeses mainly come from: the milk type (cow, goat, or sheep), the milk amount needed to produce one kilogram of cheese, the energetic performance of the ripening room, and the ripening time. Such results could be useful to cheesemakers to identify the origin of the environmental impacts of their products and to implement effective actions to reduce them. According to the results, innovations leading to the reduction in electrical consumption during ripening are interesting to explore in order to increase the environmental performance of a cheese.

Keywords: life cycle assessment (LCA); food industry; food product; type of milk; energy-efficient ripening room; alternative scenario (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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