Life cycle assessment of liquid inverted sugar and high-fructose corn syrup

The aim of this study is to compare the environmental impact of liquid inverted sugar (77°Bx) produced with enzymatic hydrolysis of beet sugar and HFCS (75% DM) produced from corn in a wet milling process. Given the different sweetness equivalents of liquid inverted sugar (77°Bx) and HFCS (75% DM), the reference flows were defined as 900 kg of liquid inverted sugar or 1000 kg HFCS. The analysis was performed with the life cycle assessment (LCA) method focusing on the cradle-to-gate stage. The inventory data of liquid inverted sugar processing were supplied by a producer while the LCA of HFCS relies on secondary data (literature) which describes the material and energy flows associated with glucose production. Life cycle inventory of relevant inputs and outputs were available from the Ecoinvent 3.4 database. Environmental impacts were calculated with the ReCiPe 2016 (H) life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method. LCA results have revealed that inverted liquid sugar has a lower impact in 14 out of the 18 analysed impact categories. Consumption of inverted liquid sugar (>77°Bx) instead of HFCS (75% DM) could lead to significant reduction in GHG emissions (by 38%), fossil energy (by 31%) and water (by 95%) consumption, and reduces the required land area by 67%

CHOCOLATE, SNACKING AND SELECTED DIETARY HABITS IN PUPILS: BMI-FOR AGE APPROACH

Besides pleasant taste, the potential health benefits of cocoa and chocolate products have been known for many years. Formerly accepted as a medicine, chocolate nowadays among consumers represents everyday delicacy primarily associated with caries, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. However, recent studies indicate the potential role of chocolate in cardiovascular diseases prevention and benefits linked to lower body mass index (BMI). The presented study aims to examine adolescents’ habits regarding chocolate, sweets, salty snacks and fast food consumption as well as corresponding products intake frequency and relate them with BMI. The study population encompassed 525 participants attending elementary and high schools in the province of Vojvodina, Serbia, from which 42.5% were boys and 57.5% girls. The risk for overweight and participants’ nutritional status were determined through BMI assessment. The majority of participants had normal range nutritional status (70.5%) followed by overweight (19.8%) and obese (7.6%). Increased number of overweight and obese nutritional statuses was recorded among boys compared to girls. Results revealed that fruits as a snack are most frequently consumed between meals, followed by salty snacks and sweets, regardless of the participants’ nutritional status. The highest share of sweets consumption between meals was noticed among participants with obese nutritional status (15%). Furthermore, more than 40% of participants with overweight and normal range nutritional status do not consume chocolate at all, while 2.5% of participants with obese nutritional status stated that they consume chocolate on a daily basis

BREAD AS INDICATOR OF AGE-CHANGING DIETARY HABITS AMONG YOUNG

Kruh je često konzumirana hrana na Balkanu te je samim time pogodan za istraživanje prehrambenih navika. Cilj ovog rada je istražiti prehrambene navike populacije mladih (14-26 godina) obzirom na konzumaciju različitih vrsta kruha. Ukupno je u istraživanje bilo uključeno 173 ispitanika (37% mladića i 63% djevojaka), nasumično odabranih među učenicima osnovne škole (30), srednje škole (45) i fakulteta (98) sa područja Novog Sada. Uočen je porast konzumacije kruha od cjelovitih žitarica od 15% među učenicima osnovne škole do 26% među učenicima srednje škole i studentima. Obzirom na spol, konzumacija kruha od cjelovitih žitarica je bila 9% veća među djevojkama u usporedbi sa mladićima. Svi ispitanici su pod utjecajem obiteljskih prehrambenih navika najviše konzumirali bijeli kruh (56-69%). Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju povezanost promjena prehrambenih navika sa odrastanjem i jači utjecaj okoline nego obitelji. Najveći utjecaj obitelji i običaja je uočen među osnovnoškolcima (54%) dok je među srednjoškolcima i studentima bio slabije izražen (34%).Recognized as a staple food consumed in large quantities in the Balkans region, bread is suitable for the investigation of dietary habits. This survey was conducted to gain insight into the dietary habits, related to intake and knowledge about various bread types, of the young population (14 to 26 years of age). The total number of surveyed respondents was 173 (37% males and 63% females). They were randomly selected among students from an elementary school (30), high school (45) and university (98) in the Novi Sad Municipality. A correlation between the respondents’ age and the practice of “healthy food” intake was observed, as whole wheat bread consumption increased from 15% in elementary school to 26% among high school and university students. Considering gender, whole wheat bread intake among female respondents was 9% higher in comparison with male respondents. Still, white bread was most commonly consumed by all respondents (56%-69%), as a result of a habit adopted in the family. However, the obtained results indicate a strong correlation between agechanging dietary habits (“healthy” food awareness) and the impact of the environment rather than the impact of the family. Namely, the greater impact of family and tradition is noticed among elementary school pupils (54%) while among high school and university students the corresponding impact was significantly less pronounced (34%)

Dietary fibers and bread: Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge among young population

The link between dietary fibers and prevention of non-communicable diseases is well documented in the existing scientific literature. Despite that, most of the population still do not have enough knowledge about fibers and their presence in certain food. This study intended to make an insight in the knowledge of the Serbian young population about dietary fibers and bioactive compounds through a questionnaire survey. A survey was conducted to a sample of 173 individuals, (37% male and 63% female) randomly selected among students from elementary, high school and university in the Novi Sad municipality. Topics covered by the questionnaire included knowledge of the term dietary fiber, fiber content in different bread types, the relationship between fibers and health and bioactive compounds sources in food. The results for each of the particular topics addressed varied among studied groups, but generally level of knowledge was related to the education level. The highest overall knowledge about dietary fibers and bioactive compounds was expressed by the university students, although elementary and high school students showed a considerable level of knowledge on the subject. Male participants appeared as more familiar with the questions related to bioactive compounds, while females were more informed on questions regarding dietary fiber. This survey revealed that young population in Serbia is well informed about the contribution of dietary fiber and bioactive compounds in promoting health. However, further expansion of existing knowledge will be beneficial in order to improve general health of the entire community

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BIOGAS PRODUCTION ON THE AGRICULTURAL FARMS IN VOJVODINA

All countries of the world deal with problems related to the energy provision and the protection of the environment in a lesser or a greater extent. The consequences of current relations between the production and consumption of electric power are permanent increase in price of the electric power, which leads to the ecologically and economically reasonable necessity to include the alternative sources in the global strategy of energetics development. Since the Republic of Serbia can not act as being isolated from the world processes, she undertook the obligations related to energetics under the Athens Memorandum and the Kyoto Protocol, for the protection and improvement of environment, as well as for the fulfillment of standards for the purpose of further integrations. Biogas in Serbia becomes the alternative source of energy on agricultural households in two aspects – the aspect of energetics and the aspect of ecology. In comparison to techniques of electric power production from other renewable and fossil biogenic energy sources, the usage of biogas from the liquid manure is accomplished with a significant decrease in gas emissions which lead to the hothouse effect

Environmental impact assessment of rapeseed production using the LCA method: Part two: Life cycle impact assessment

This constitutes the second segment of an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) study on oilseed rape cultivation in the prevalent conditions of Vojvodina, Serbia. The paper presents the results of the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase of the LCA. The functional unit (FU) is one hectare of agricultural land used for winter rapeseed cultivation, with a reference flow of 3,000 kg of seeds, representing the average yield per hectare. The assessment is focused on the rapeseed production chain, concluding with the transportation of oilseeds to regional silos. The environmental impact assessment employed the ReCiPe 2016 (H) LCIA method, using the OpenLCA software. The study found that the total damage to human health was estimated at 0.0048 DALY, while damage due to biodiversity loss was calculated as 0.0001 species per year. Additionally, the damage resulting from the exploitation of geological mineral reserves was determined to be 167 USD per FU. Notably, land occupation was identified as the primary contributor to biodiversity loss, accounting for 90% of the associated damage within the rapeseed production chain. Meanwhile, the life cycle of diesel fuel, the mineral fertilizer production chain, and nitrogen compound emissions from agricultural land collectively accounted for 74% of the damage to human health and 91% of the damage attributed to mineral resource consumption. On the midpoint level, the ReCiPe 2016 (H) LCIA method calculates results within 18 impact categories, including the impact on global warming and fossil fuel depletion. The cumulative impact of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted in the rapeseed production chain is equivalent to the impact of 1,970 kg of carbon dioxide. The carbon footprint of rapeseed was estimated at 0.65 kg CO2 eq. per kg of rapeseed. In the production chain of 3,000 kg of rapeseed, 454 kg of oil equivalent is consumed, which means that approximately 6.93 MJ of energy from fossil sources is required to produce 1 kg of rapeseed under the prevalent conditions in Vojvodina. The ReCiPe 2016 method identified and assessed the impact of approximately 750 different emissions with adverse effects on the environment, as well as the impact of around 250 different forms of natural resources consumed or used in the rapeseed production chain. However, the results of the LCIA analysis show that only about ten elementary flows are responsible for over 90% of the total damage in specific protection areas. These primarily include air emissions (carbon dioxide, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide, and suspended particles), emissions of certain heavy metals into water and soil (hexavalent chromium and zinc), as well as the exploitation of some natural resources, notably arable land, natural gas, and crude oil. The results of the LCIA analysis can be utilized to identify processes and emissions where rationalization or improved control can yield the greatest environmental benefits. The most substantial environmental improvements are expected through the reduction of mineral fertilizer consumption per unit yield and the decrease in diesel fuel usage for field and transportation activities. Furthermore, enhanced control over emissions that contribute significantly to the adverse impacts of the rapeseed production chain can also lead to substantial environmental enhancements

Life cycle assessment of liquid inverted sugar and high-fructose corn syrup

The aim of this study is to compare the environmental impact of liquid inverted sugar (77°Bx) produced with enzymatic hydrolysis of beet sugar and HFCS (75% DM) produced from corn in a wet milling process. Given the different sweetness equivalents of liquid inverted sugar (77°Bx) and HFCS (75% DM), the reference flows were defined as 900 kg of liquid inverted sugar or 1000 kg HFCS. The analysis was performed with the life cycle assessment (LCA) method focusing on the cradle-to-gate stage. The inventory data of liquid inverted sugar processing were supplied by a producer while the LCA of HFCS relies on secondary data (literature) which describes the material and energy flows associated with glucose production. Life cycle inventory of relevant inputs and outputs were available from the Ecoinvent 3.4 database. Environmental impacts were calculated with the ReCiPe 2016 (H) life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method. LCA results have revealed that inverted liquid sugar has a lower impact in 14 out of the 18 analysed impact categories. Consumption of inverted liquid sugar (>77°Bx) instead of HFCS (75% DM) could lead to significant reduction in GHG emissions (by 38%), fossil energy (by 31%) and water (by 95%) consumption, and reduces the required land area by 67%

Environmental impact assessment of rapeseed production using the LCA method: Part one: Life cycle inventory analysis

This is the first part of an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) study of oilseed rape cultivated under conditions prevalent in the region of Vojvodina, Serbia. The paper presents the initial two phases of the LCA: goal and scope definition, as well as the life cycle inventory (LCI). The assessment exclusively focuses on the rapeseed oil production chain, which includes the transportation of oilseeds to regional silos as its final stage. The assessment of production inputs, including quantities of mineral fertilizers, pesticides, and diesel fuel needed to achieve an assumed yield of 3000 kg ha-1, relies on recommendations from relevant agricultural advisory institutions. Emissions of pollutants into the environment, considered as outputs, are calculated using methodologies that account for locally specific conditions and production practices. Collected or estimated input and output data are entered into the OpenLCA software, which, in conjunction with the ecoinvent 3.7 database, computes the results of the LCI analysis. The LCI result contains data on hundreds of different pollutants emitted into the environment during the processes that make up the oilseed rape production chain, as well as a detailed inventory of consumed or used natural resources. However, LCI results only provide data on the quantities of different exchanges with the environment, not their potential impacts. Thus, they are not suitable for concluding the overall impact of oilseed rape production on the environment. Consequently, the analysis requires supplementation through the third LCA phase: the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). This phase provides further explanations and interpretations of the significance of inventory results from an environmental protection perspective