Environmental impact assessment of cheese production: a systematic review of life cycle assessment studies

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research on cheese manufacturing is increasingly embracing a wider perspective and standardized approaches. Numerous studies indicate a transition from limited gate-to-gate evaluations to comprehensive life cycle analyses (either cradle-to-grave or cradle-to-retail), particularly highlighting traditional and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses in countries like Italy, Brazil, and the United States. The choice of allocation method significantly influences these results, with studies showing climate change impacts varying from 6 to 13 kg CO2 equivalents per kg of cheese depending on the allocation approach. Common allocation methods include dry matter content, economic value, and nutritional content, with some studies showing impact variations of up to 64% between methods. Twenty analyses evaluate the impacts of climate change, with milk production contributing to 93.5-99.6% of total impacts in certain instances. Approximately 28.3% of the climate change impacts arise from processing activities (due to energy consumption), while transport contributes 22.5%. Eutrophication and acidification are also significant factors, along with evaluations of water usage, air quality, toxicity, and resource depletion.