The motivation to integrate nutritional and environmental sustainability is increasingly understandable and crucial for ensuring a better future for food systems, especially for emerging market segments such as that of so-called ‘superfoods’. However, it is not an easy task to bring these aspects together, which is why the concept of nutritional Life Cycle Assessment (n-LCA) has emerged. Addressing this tool, special attention should be paid to the purpose of the system, as well as to the strong influences to localized nutritional needs and climate interactions, which may affect the design of the methodological framework. Therefore, the objective of this contribution is the development of a comprehensive regionalized nutritional index to be introduced as functional units (FUs) in the LCA of ‘superfoods’.
The index consists of a nutrient profile model. It was designed to accomplish specific requirements and took Spain as reference for regionalization. The selection of nutrients for encouragement was guided by the nutritional shortfalls of the Spanish population, while negative nutrients were selected for their dietetic importance. The introduction of weighting factors was motivated by the ability of these products to be consumed as food supplements and to cover nutritional deficiencies with a relatively low intake. The integration of all the characteristics gave rise to the Spanish Nutrient Rich (super) Food 9.2 (sNRF9.2) index.
The sNRF9.2 model's validation and testing across various foods successfully fulfils its purpose by aligning with the Spanish Public Health Strategy and providing an adequate prioritization of products. The application of the index identified chia seeds, turmeric, kale, and moringa as the most beneficial. Although the application of FUs in the n-LCA of ‘superfoods’ is ongoing, the preliminary results show its usefulness in conveying integrated information efficiently. Therefore, the model represents an initial step toward advancing research, developing a methodology for future objective environmental measurements of ‘superfoods’.
