Research Status and Prospect of Life Cycle Assessment of Fruit and Vegetable Food Manufacturing

With the continuous growth of the global population, establishing a food system that can ensure adequate nutrition while maintaining environmental sustainability has emerged as a pressing challenge for society. Fruit and vegetable products, highly valued for their rich nutritional content, remain controversial in terms of their environmental friendliness. There is an urgent need to utilize scientific environmental management tools to systematically assess their life cycle environmental impacts, thereby driving the green transformation of the fruit and vegetable food industry. Life cycle assessment (LCA), a comprehensive and systematic environmental evaluation methodology, quantifies environmental issues across all stages of a product's life cycle, from raw material extraction to waste disposal. It has played a pivotal role in promoting sustainable development across multiple industries. This paper focuses on the application of LCA in fruit and vegetable food manufacturing. Firstly, it provides a detailed breakdown of the key implementation aspects in the four core stages of LCA from a technical framework perspective. Secondly, from the viewpoint of the fruit and vegetable food supply chain, it explores how LCA can optimize raw material production, processing, and the circulation and consumption environment. Finally, in response to existing challenges such as difficulties in obtaining inventory data, poor standardization of evaluation methods, and a scarcity of industry-specific models, this paper proposes corresponding solutions. The ultimate goal is to offer quantifiable tools for scientifically assessing the environmental benefits of fruit and vegetable products, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the food system.