‘Nutritional Footprint’ in the Food, Meals and HoReCa Sectors: A Review

Abstract

Nowadays, the food industry is integrating environmental, social, and health parameters to increase its sustainable impact. To do this, they are using new tools to calculate the potential efficiency of nutritional products with lower levels of environmental impact. One of these tools is called the ‘nutritional footprint’, created by Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy GmbH. This study aims to review this concept and clarify its historical development, its use in several sectors of the food industry, and its transformation from a manual to an online tool. Results reflected that it is a suitable indicator that integrates nutritional, environmental, and social-economic dimensions to help the decision-making process in the procurement of more sustainable products and, although it is limited to Germany due to the use of the national standard nutritional intakes of Germany, its importance lies in the fact that is a promising instrument to promote environmental sustainability in the context of food, meals, and the hotel, restaurant and catering (HoReCa) sectors.

Sausage technology for food sustainability: recipe, color, nutrition, structure

“…To this end, they use new tools to calculate the potential performance of food products with a lower environmental impact. The search, improvement, and introduction into production of new tools for sustainable development remains the front of research [14]. Despite accumulated evidence that the current agricultural model is unsustainable, scientists are far from understanding the consequences of the loss of functional diversity for the functioning and provision of ecosystem services, as well as the potential long-term threats to food security and human well-being [15].…”