University of Manchester researchers from the EUED CSEF Centre have traced the life cycle of vanilla ice cream produced and consumed in the UK, gaining insights into energy use in food chains. Research engineer Antonios Konstantas has carried out in-depth research on vanilla ice cream from raw materials to manufacturing, packaging, retail, consumption, end-of-life waste management and transport to evaluate energy consumption as well as other environmental impacts of the product.
As shown in the diagram, ice cream manufacturing and the production of plastic packaging are the ‘hotspots’ for energy consumption, followed by the production of raw materials, storage at retailer and transport. The contribution of consumption (storage at consumer) and end-of-life waste is small.
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