Summary
Clark et al. present a novel approach for estimating the environmental footprint of processed food products by inferring ingredient composition from labelling data and linking to commodity-level lifecycle assessment databases. Analysis of 57,000 products in the UK and Ireland demonstrates a general positive correlation between nutritional quality and environmental sustainability, though notable exceptions exist where seemingly substitutable foods have markedly different environmental profiles. The methodology is presented as robust to uncertainty in ingredient composition and sourcing, offering potential utility for consumer decision-making and retail and policy-level product evaluation.
UK applicability
The study directly assessed 57,000 UK and Irish food products, making findings directly applicable to the UK food environment and retail landscape. The approach could support UK retailer and policy-maker initiatives around environmental labelling and sustainable food system transitions, though implementation would require manufacturer ingredient disclosure and adoption of harmonised environmental impact accounting.
Key measures
Greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water stress, eutrophication potential; NutriScore nutritional profiling; sensitivity analyses on ingredient composition and sourcing uncertainty
Outcomes reported
The study developed and applied a methodology to estimate environmental impacts (greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water stress, and eutrophication potential) across 57,000 food products in the United Kingdom and Ireland by inferring ingredient composition from product labels and pairing with environmental databases. Products were categorised by environmental impact level and cross-referenced with nutritional quality scores (NutriScore).
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