Datasets for the environmental assessment of an apple value chain including fresh fruits, juice and applesauce from an organic low-input production farm

Samuel Le Féon; Thierry Benezech; Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris; Joël Aubin; Imca Sampers; Damien Herreman; Caroline Pénicaud

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2023.109824

Datasets for the environmental assessment of an apple value chain including fresh fruits, juice and applesauce from an organic low-input production farm

Data Brief. 2023 Nov 19:51:109824. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2023.109824. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Samuel Le Féon¹, Thierry Benezech², Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris¹, Joël Aubin³, Imca Sampers⁴, Damien Herreman⁵, Caroline Pénicaud¹

Affiliations

¹ Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France.
² Univ. Lille, CNRS, INRAE, Centrale Lille, UMET, F-59000 Lille, France.
³ UMR SAS, INRAE, Institut Agro, 65 rue de Saint Brieuc, 35042 Rennes, France.
⁴ Research Unit VEG-i-TEC, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Campus Kortrijk, Sint-Martens-Latemlaan 2B, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
⁵ Les Vergers de Méteren, 59270 Méteren, France.

Abstract

Due to societal concerns, assess the environmental impacts, address the issues and provide labelling to the consumer are growing issues for the agri-food sector. In this context, provide datasets specific to alternative systems is crucial to be able to take into account the variability between systems then address their issues and label them appropriately. This data paper compiles all the data used to produce the life cycle assessment (LCA) environmental of an organic low-input apple value chain including the cultivation of apples at farm, the transformation of a part into juice and applesauce, the retail and the consumption stages. The raw data have mostly been obtained through interviews of the farmer and complemented by literature. They have been used to build a life cycle inventory (LCI), using Agribalyse 3.0 and Ecoinvent 3.8 as background databases. The dataset also compiles the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) using the characterization method EF3.0. As discussed in an associated scientific paper, this dataset participates in filling two gaps: integrate the variability between systems in the discussion and link upstream (at farm) and downstream (transformation, retail, consuming) impacts. This is done by (1) covering the entire value chain from cradle to grave when most papers found in literature focusses on one stage (e.g. the cultivation of apples) and (2) applying LCA to a system that present specificities not well covered by LCA literature (e.g. low-input cultivation with no fertilization up to now).

Keywords: Apple value chain; Life Cycle Inventory; Life cycle assessment; Organic production.