Assessing environmental impacts using a comparative LCA of industrial and artisanal production processes: “Minas Cheese” case

dc.creatorElbert Muller NIGRI
dc.creatorAline Capanema de BARROS
dc.creatorSonia Denise Ferreira ROCHA
dc.creatorEduardo Romeiro FILHO
dc.date2014
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T04:21:11Z
dc.descriptionThis study uses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts caused by both the artisanal and the industrial manufacturing processes of “Minas cheese”. This is a traditional cheese produced in the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil), and it is considered a “cultural patrimony” in the country. The high participation of artisanal producers in the market justifies this research, and this analysis can help the identification of opportunities to improve the environmental performance of several stages of the production system. The environmental impacts caused were also assessed and compared. The functional unit adopted was 1 kilogram (Kg) of cheese. The system boundaries considered were the production process, conservation of product (before sale), and transport to consumer market. The milk production process was considered similar in both cases, and therefore it was not included in the assessment. The data were collected through interviews with the producers, observation, and a literature review; they were ordered and processed using the SimaPro 7 LCA software. According to the impact categories analyzed, the artisanal production exerted lower environmental impacts. This can be justified mainly because the industrial process includes the pasteurization stage, which uses dry wood as an energy source and refrigeration.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifier0101-2061
dc.identifierhttps://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=395940096013
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/458803
dc.languageen
dc.publisherSociedade Brasileira de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos
dc.relationhttp://www.redalyc.org/revista.oa?id=3959
dc.rightsCiência e Tecnologia de Alimentos
dc.sourceCiência e Tecnologia de Alimentos (Brasil) Num.3 Vol.34
dc.subjectAgrociencias
dc.titleAssessing environmental impacts using a comparative LCA of industrial and artisanal production processes: “Minas Cheese” case
dc.typeartículo científico

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