Social life cycle sustainability assessment of dried tomato products based on material and process selection through multi-criteria decision making

Date

2024-10-26

Author

Ayhan, Dilber
Mendoza, Francisco Astorga
Gul, Muhammed Rasim
Ari, Izzet
Alpas, Hami
Oztop, Mecit Halil

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BACKGROUND: Tomatoes are a significant product of the Mediterranean region and a crucial component of the Mediterraneandiet. The formulation of dried tomato products enriched with proteins and bioactive compounds could be a strategic approachto promote adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Six different novel tomato products were analyzed using different proteinenrichment sources (pea proteins and leaf proteins) and drying technologies (hot-air dryer, microwave vacuum dryer, and con-ventional dryer). The novelty of this approach lies in combining product-specific criteria with global societal factors across theirlife cycles. Using 21 criteria and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) survey of experts, the social sustainability score for eachproduct was determined through a multi-criteria assessment.RESULTS: The tomato product's life cycles have minimal regional impacts on unemployment, access to drinking water, sanita-tion, or excessive working hours. However, they affect discrimination, migrant labor, children's education, and access to hospi-tal beds significantly. The study identified nutritional quality as the top criterion, with the most sustainable design being atomato bar enriched with pea protein and processed using microwave vacuum drying.CONCLUSION: The study revealed that integrating sensory and nutrient compounds into social sustainability assessmentsimproves food sustainability and provides a practical roadmap for social life cycle assessments of food products. It emphasizedthe importance of considering global social issues when reformulating Mediterranean products to ensure long-term adherenceto the Mediterranean diet. Incorporating social factors into sustainability scores can also enhance the effectiveness of productinformation for conscious customers.

Subject Keywords

social life cycle assessment, product life cycle, tomato products, Mediterranean products, multi-criteria assessment, integrated assessment

URI

https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsfa.13974
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/112268

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Article