Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability Indicators Applied to Food Services: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Sustainability is the integration of actions focused on three pillars: environmental, social, and economical. Implementing sustainable development ranges from the pursuit of quality of life, and from environmental balance to break with the current pattern of development. Therefore, the objective of this work was to understand and analyze the sustainability indicators implemented in the production of meals in food services. The authors developed specific search strategies for Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, Lilacs, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global to perform the systematic review. The authors evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies using the Meta-analysis Statistical Assessment and Review Instrument (MASTARI). A total of 31 cross-sectional studies were analyzed. Twenty four (77.41%) of the studies had activities that covered the three indicators (environmental, social, and economic); 22.59% (n = 7) used two indicators in which 12.90% (n = 4) presented environmental and economic indicators and 9.67% (n = 3) with environmental and social indicators. This research indicates that the studies in food services are seeking to insert indicators that cover the three pillars of sustainable meal production. It is worth mentioning that in the literature, many works encompasses the importance of sustainability, but few explore which indicators are most applied or detail their implementation in food services. More studies are needed to estimate better the indicators being applied in food services.

Brazilian Community Restaurants’ Low-Income Food Handlers: Association between the Nutritional Status and the Presence of Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases

“…Food insecurity and low income are a burden influencing the populations' health and sustainability [1][2][3][4][5]. Food security is a basic need covering access to safe, sufficient, and proper nutritional food for individuals [6,7], in which food access must encompass sustainable premises [8].…”

“…In Brazil, low-cost food services more frequently hire untrained and low-educational-level food handlers [21,22]. All of these factors can impact the social and economic aspects of sustainability [5,[23][24][25].…”

Identifier of Regional Food Presence (IRFP): A New Perspective to Evaluate Sustainable Menus

“…In general, the assessment of the IRFP confirms the use of regional items in the analyzed trivial menus. However, it is necessary to encourage greater use of RF in restaurants as a possible strategy to stimulate the supply of fruits and vegetables as an alternative to modify the global epidemiological scenario and boost local sustainability [12,43]. The list of items of Brazilian food culture was facilitated by a movement of the Federal Government that understands the valorization of local products as one of the essential keys for public health.…”

“…Menus offered in restaurants should integrate some factors defined by the world trends concerning environment and food consumption related to nutritional, microbiological, and sensorial quality and cultural aspects. The integration of regional foods in menus can contribute to the preservation of the food culture, nutritional quality, pleasure, and sustainability [3,[11][12][13][14]. In addition, regional foods in menus have an impact on consumers' perception of products and purchasing decisions and support the development of regional economies [15].…”

“…By monitoring the presence of regional foods in menus, restaurant owners and/or menu creators can stimulate the use of local ingredients and start a cycle of sustainable actions. If the demand for local food increases, consequently, production has to adapt to serve the market [12]. Nowadays, the observed scenario constitutes monocultures, aimed at serving a specific market, which modify the natural landscape of a region, creating environmental damage.…”