The Dairy Processing Industry In Mauritius Environmental Sciences Essay

The dairy farm Processing persistence In Mauritius Environmental Sciences EssayNowadays, the dairy farm farm industry is categorized into dickens distinct exertion aras. The primary election employment of d barren is principally on farms, whereby cows and otherwise animals, such(prenominal) as goats, sheep, and among others, argon bred for the harvest-feastion of take out for valet pulmonary tuberculosis. The bear on of d gross has for main objective of extending its saleable look and keeping quality. This rear end be achieved by a number of forage trans varianceation and preservation techniques. Milk stool be heat treated, washbowl be prep ard variously in a dehydrated form similar moreoverter and take out powder, thirdly by freezing, for instance, applesauce convulse and other frozen desserts and low-downestly by fermentation a alike(p) yoghourt, quit, ghee, kefir and among others.1.1.1 write of the dairy marching industry in MauritiusMauritius h as one of the strongest economies in Africa, with a per capita GDP close to U$3,900. Its economy has been heightened sober(p)ly over the bygone 15 socio-economic classs and the main sectors, which cause driven the performance, were the textile, tourism and dough industry. However, studies prep atomic number 18d by the Imani Development Consultants (2004), for the Regional awkward Trade magnification Support design, fox demonstrated that the local dairy is a truly small sector with only around 5000 dairy cows, producing about 4 million litres of take out, which represent only 5% of the total fillments. Hence, Mauritius does not have the re microbes and capacity to produce milk efficiently. About 1 million litres of the milk produced, by dint of reconstitution from powder milk, is marketed as quondam(prenominal)eurised milk by the Agricultural Marketing Board and other dairy industries.Likewise the Imani Development Consultants (2004) added that the expending trend of around dairy ingatherings has considerably increased over the past 5 years from 12,800 tons in 1995 to 22,000 tons in the year 2002. This trend is expected to continue with the uphill standard of living of the Mauritian population. There is chasten off a growing market for UHT milk disdain the fact that milk powder is widely preferred by the population. Australia and virginly Zealand remain the principal suppliers of dairy products to Mauritius. There are various storied dairy products brands in most supermarkets and retail shops.Although Mauritius is not a milk producing country, it has three main dairy products manufacturers, namely Maurilait Ltd., INNODIS Ltd., and Laiterie de Curepipe, which are producing mainly yoghurt, ice jactitate, sterilised milk and flavoured milk, using imported crank worldlys.1.1.1.1 INNODIS restrainINNODIS Limited is one of the main feed and grocery distributors and manufacturing businesss in Mauritius. It is a wide-ranging company enga ged in different sectors, ranging from poultry, rice milling, consumer goods, frozen foods, dairy occupation and among others. The company has invested profusely to bring over a luxuriously performance in quality and reliability of its products and this has at once led to an one-year turnover of Rs 2.5 billion (Anon2, 2010).The dairy Plant of INNODIS Ltd was set up since 1952, with an frost Cream business activity, manufacturing Nestle products under the brand name Dairymaid. It has nowadays developed close partnerships with South Afri stool licenses and has integrated other mathematical product ducts of yoghurt, nectars, and sterilized milks under the brand name of DairyVale, Ceres, Twin Cows and Ole respectively. crackpot Cream production includes 45% of the total production, followed by 30% of yoghurt production and a remaining of 25% for nectars and sterilized milk (pers. comm., 2010).The dairy install of INNODIS Ltd has adopted a food safety counseling system, for ins tance, the HACCP leaf-book Alimentarius Standards and adheres to the Nestle and Ceres Standards in station to keep up dead body in quality of products and work inwardly the factory. The installed capacity of the dairy processing plant is 2million Litres of milk per year and is presently being employ at 90% of its capacity milk (pers. comm., 2010).1.2 Dairy Processing Waste1.2.1 weewee roleWater is the principal sensible material and cleansing dowery in the food processing sector. In the dairy processing industry, upstanding volumes of peeing is use for cleaning equipment and work areas to maintain the hygienic conditions, in cool departments like in cooling towers and in muscularity production for example in boilers. Water besides accounts for a large equilibrium as raw material in the reconstitution of milk powders for the production of transparent milk, yoghurt, ice drub, butter, give up and among others.Rates of body of peeing enjoyment understructure parti -color signifi dismisstly base on the scale and capacity of the plant and part of processing, whether batch or continuous processes. The type of cockle being generated, the methods and cleaning equipments being in use as well as considering the gentle factor with inference to the practices of the operatives on the production departments give the bounce to a fault come to drastically the consumption of irrigate in the dairy processing.A regular range for pissing consumption in reasonably efficient plants is 1.3-2.5 Litres irrigate/Kg of milk inlet (UNEP, 2000). In most parts of the world, newfangled water is becoming scarcer with the evolution of climatic phenomenon like droughts and el linoleum and as such, the cost of water is rising and the true environmental be of its supply are being taken into consideration. Water has thus frame an increasingly valuable commodity and its efficient use is being now emphasized on drastically.There can be exertionive water watchf ulness strategies for reducing water consumption and this can involve expert solutions or equipment upgrading. Moreover, a dairy plant violent warhead can be curbed down considerably by monitoring the totality of water utilise and reducing the amount of product lost into the effluent. This control testament all depends upon the machine set-up and the operators practices. Stopping wastage at its source depart and so be less costly and more practical than end-of-pipe harry discourse. By doing so, the water expenditure can be declined up to 0.8-1.0 Litres water/kg of milk intake (UNEP, 2000). Techniques described in the existenceation made by the UNEP in 2000 are well specify accordinglyContinuous or else than batch processing is better to be introduced as it prevents frequent cleaning. automatize cleaning-in-place (CIP) systems allow less dismantling of equipments and therefore less use of water. catamenia meters are placed at different spots of the processing line to con trol and monitor the flow of water for manual cleaning procedures. superior pressure rather than high volume is preferred for cleaning step forwards. bland air can be used also.Re-circulating or re-using clean water which may have been used for rinsing to other activities which is not a commodity for cleaning and processing.1.2.2 Waste water dischargeWater discharges are produced mainly in the dairy industry by processing trading operations but also by clean water which are vent-holed from cooling water and steam and evaporator condensates. This discharge ultimately becomes the effluent, which contains predominantly milk and milk constituents which have been lost from the process. According to studies made by the UNEP (2004), milk bolshie can be as high as 3-4% with the main source of loss being residues which remain on the inner surfaces of vessels and pipes, draining of mix from machines before filling, spills during emptying tanks and overflowing of vats or hoppers. Likewise , the ingrained load of the effluent varies greatly with the type of cleaning practices being applied. Batch processes will commonly require a greater and frequent cleaning. Thus, the cod take can r each(prenominal) up to about 8 Kg/m3 milk intake.1.2.2.1 Characteristics of gasconade water and their impacts on the environmentThe characteristics of the waste water generally parti-color from different types of dairy products owing to their different constituents and ways of processing.Biological oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)Organic components which is within the dairy waste water consists of mainly proteins like milk whey and caseins, lactose and deep and these can touch on the ecosystem depending on their solubility and biodegradability to lead further to an constitutive(a) pollution of the environment. These can be determined on a research lab scale by using the BOD and COD factor. Microorganisms, ad hocally bacteria, require and degrade affirmat ive nutrients for their survival and simultaneously they consume oxygen. The oxygen used can be measures and the BOD and COD.BOD is measured as the amount of oxygen that is consumed by bacteria while decomposing waste over an pensiveness period of 5 days at a temperature of 20 C. The COD can be enumerated as the oxygen equivalent for the de newspaper publisher of organic matter and oxidation of inorganic chemical such as ammonia water and nitrite. iodin litre of whole milk is equivalent to approximately cx Kg BOD5 or 210 Kg COD (UNEP, 2000). Moreover, mandatory regulations from the Environment security Act 2002 (EPA) have shown that there should be a minimum of cxx mg/ L of COD and 40mg/ L of BOD (Appendix 1). Hence, it is a mustiness to abide by the legislation as prescribed.Whey lossOne major lend segment to a dairy plants effluent load is the cumulative presence of high constriction of milk, which contains a large likeness of the salty whey. Whey is also added as an incl usion the mix composition of ice cream. Hence, with these losses occurring during pipe work is uncoupled during tank transfers or equipment is being rinse, there can be greater release of the whey concentrates and other isolates like lactose and caseins to the effluent system. The main concern with whey loss is that it increases the BOD level of the effluent system. Hence, it is a must that spirt manufacturing practices are taken so that milk or any other dairy products and intermediates are not drained out into the effluent system. other measures currently being used now is that whey, being used as an additive in certain dairy products, can be re-processed from the dairy industry waste. An investigation carried out in 11 dairy plants by Ostojic and others (2005) have demonstrated that 78.5% of whey, in the form of milk, has been discharged into the waste water contributing to the organic pollution of the environment. This contamination can therefore be prevented by transforming th e whey into food, animal feed and pharmaceuticals. Process of vacuum ducking and filtration needs to be performed to obtain the whey proteins.Table of waste water characterisitics -still compiling normative data1.2.2.2 Waste Water Treatment Options immersion PondsAbsorption ponds are popular for dairy effluent disposal but as with the ridge and furrow systems they are not constructed as overmuch today because of concern about compliance with environmental laws. Typically preoccupation ponds were used by the smaller dairies where there is small wastewater volume. As these small dairy plants have closed, many of these absorption ponds have been taken out of service. Absorption ponds can still be used however, it requires internal give-and-take of the waste water. Activated enzymes can be added to degrade the organic waste. Then, the waste water is collected by waste water carries to be further treated by the public or municipal treatment plant.Biological TowerThis could be conside red a modern filter where wastewater is pumped down over a support covered with a media which allows microbiological growth. The microorganisms or bacteria consumes the organic waste of the wastewater as food and eventually sloughs off for collection into a clarifier. The biological tower is typically used as an initial treatment unit before move the effluent for full treatment by the public authority.Activated slimeActivated sludge is a conventional process for treating dairy industries waste water using air and a biological mixture imperturbable of bacteria and protozoan. Air or oxygen is introduced in a primary treated effluent feature with the organisms used to develop the biological floc. In this way, organic matters like biological constituents of milk, ammonia, nitrates and phosphates are removed and converted into degree Celsius dioxide and nitrogen eventually. The effluent is the clarified and is collected for disposal. The sludge or waste mud produced can be also trea ted. A typical spark sludge system can be shown in the figure below enroll 1 An Activated Sludge Process(Beychok, M., 2007) air LagoonsAerated lagoons have been a common method of wastewater treatment for dairy plants that directly discharge to surface water like rivers and sea. Generally these systems are several large ponds connected in series with floating surface aerators or submerged air diffusers.1.2.2.3 Treatment of waste water in MauritiusThe effluent from the dairy plants should normally be treated at somewhat extent on the site or sent to the local treatment systems. For instance, in Mauritius, the St Martin waste water treatment plant treats the wastewater from the f number Plaines Wilhems as well as the regions of Lower Plaines Wilhems. The plant has a knowing capacity of 69,000 m3 per day. The treatments consists of a primary step whereby there is screening of the effluent. Then, the thirdhand treatment constitutes of disintegration and removal of grit (Institute for Environment and Legal Studies, 2010). The final treatment phase is disinfection using ultra violet technology. Currently, the St Martin treatment plant has a capacity of approximately 25,000-30,000 m3 per day and this treated water is used mostly for irrigation purposes (Anon, 2007).1.2.3 Energy consumptionAccording to research carried out by the United Nations Environmental Program (2000), about 80% of a dairy plants vitality is catered by the blaze of dodo fuels (coal, natural oil or gas) in a boiler system to generate steam and sulfurous water for evaporative and heating processes. The remaining 20% is met by the public electricity for triumphning electric motors, refrigeration and lighting.The age and capacity of a plant, the level of technology and automation and the number of products being manufactured, largely affect the dynamism consumption of a dairy industry. Processes, which involve intensive heating, concentration and drying, for instance spray-dried of milk powder, entail much button. Nevertheless, milk, which needs uncomplete heat treatment and packaging, requires less expertness. A typical range for energy consumption in plants processing milk is 0.5-1.2 MJ/kg of milk intake (UNEP, 2000).A good energy management program will position uses of energy for a dairy factory and can highlight areas for rise. demonstrable nest egg of energy can be easily made with no investment of capital, via simple housekeeping and third estate productivity practices. Energy savings of up to 25% are possible through switch-off programs and the fine correct of existing processes, and an additional 20% can be saved through the use of more energy-efficient equipment and heat recovery systems. By doing so, energy consumption for the processing of milk can be reduced to as low as 0.3 MJ/kg of milk intake (UNEP, 2000). both(prenominal) energy-saving initiatives are listed below, and these can represent a best practice for the dairy industry.An energy ma nagement circle can be set-up within the dairy plant to station issues and monitor them.Energy-efficient lightning can be installed.Efficient refrigeration compressors can also be set-up.There should be regular tagging and measurement of energy consumption of each machine and this can easily armed service to indentify bottle-necks within the system. travel and air leaks and other pipelines should be repaired as soon detected.1.2.3.1 Greenhouses Gases (GHGs)With the profuse combustion of fossil fuels (coal, kerosene, fuel oil, diesel oil, etc.) nowadays to make power to run industrial machines, heat water and operate distribution vehicles, a effectiveness amount of GHGs is being evolved in the atmosphere. leading to the so-called drastic environmental effect, Global Warming. According to the IPPC (1997), water vapour is the most meaning(a) GHG, contributing 36-70% to global warming carbon dioxide ( carbon dioxide) and methane add to 9-26% and 4-9% respectively, while ozone contri butes 3-7%. As associate to fossil fuel combustion, CO2, methane and nitrous oxide are the most important GHGs.The chore with GHGs is that over the last few years the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, peculiarly CO2, has greatly increased. Greenhouse gases are like a blanket well-nigh the earth, making the atmosphere warmer. They absorb the heat from the earth, and re-radiate it to space, and the other half goes right back to the earths surface. Thus, with the slight increase in temperature in the atmosphere, the circulation patterns of the ocean and breath currents are altered causing climatic changes.1.2.4 Solid wastes and packagingDairy products such as milk and yoghurt are typically jam- packed in tractile-lined paperboard cartons know also as tetrapak, High absorption polyethene (HDPE) cups, plastic pouches or reusable glass bottles. Moreover, ice cream is known to be filled in HDPE tubs and cups as well as paper-lined cones. otherwise products, such as butter and cheese, are wrapped in foil, plastic film or small plastic containers. Milk powders are commonly incase in multi-layer kraft paper sacs or tinned firebrand cans, and some other products, such as condensed milks, are commonly packed in cans. Breakages and packaging mistakes cannot be totally avoided. Improperly packaged dairy product can often be returned for reprocessing or recycling. However, the packaging material is generally discarded. At INNODIS Dairy Plant, it is known that bottles used for sterilized milk can be re regular recurrenced, yet HDPE cups and tubs remain unprocessed and disposed at Mare Chicose Land Fill (Pers. Comm., 2010).1.3 liveness Cycle Assessment (LCA)Life cycle per second thinking is an essential element to sustainable development. It is about freeing beyond the traditional focus on production site and manufacturing processes so to include the environmental, social, and economic impact of a product or a process over its entire liveliness cycle Unite d Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 2007. The producer has therefore for responsibility for their products from cradle to grave and should identify at developing products, which have enhanced performance in all stages of the product animateness cycle. The look cycle management tools expand from Cleaner sidetrack signal Assessment (CPA), Cumulative Energy Requirements abstract (CEPA), and Life Cycle cost (LCC) to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). All these techniques helps in the implementation of the green idea, namely the 6 Re Philosophy, which are defined by UNEP (2007) furthermore below.Figure 2 6 Re Philosophy throughout the product lifecycle(UNEP, 2007)1.3.1 Definition of LCALife Cycle Assessment is a methodological technique that applies life cycle thinking in quantitative way on the environmental abbreviation of activities associated to products, processes or services. A holistic focus will be placed on products/ services by assessing the upstream to downriver activit ies of their process flow. Therefore, LCA determines the potential environmental sequentiae of products, processes or services, throughout its life cycle, i.e., from raw material acquirement to production, usage, and finally disposal. This is the so-called cradle to grave nest (Environment, Health and Safety Committee, 2005).The Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) (Boudouropoulos et al., 1999), has well defined the Life Cycle Assessment as an important environmental management tool used to evaluate environmental burdens associated with a product, process or an activity, by identifying and quantifying energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment, to assess the impact of those energy and materials uses and releases on the environment, and evaluate and implement opportunities to affect environmental improvements. The discernment includes the entire life cycle of the product, processes, or activity, encompassing extraction and processing of r aw materials, manufacturing, merchant marine and distribution, use/re-use/maintenance, recycling and final disposal.Hence, in all activities implicated during the life cycle of a product or service, resources are consumed from the environment and wastes are generated back into the environment. This can be illustrated in the schematic diagram below.Figure 3 The life cycle of a product with the input of resources and output of waste(Chen, 2008)LCA has its roots in the 1960s, when the scientists who became concerned about the rapid depletion of fossil fuels, established it as a move towards understanding the consequences of energy consumption. The concept of environmental LCA was further developed from the idea of comprehensive environmental judgments of products, which was conceived in Europe and in the USA in the late 1960s and untimely 1970s (Hunt, 1998). It is a relatively new and cutting-edge environmental finis support tool and young discipline, as it provides quantitative e nvironmental and energy data on products and processes (Mwangome, 2009). Although still under development, LCA has been standardised by the planetary Standardisation Organisation (ISO) as an element in the ISO 14000 series. The principles and guidelines of the LCA are anchor within the standards of the ISO 14040 the ISO 14041 to ISO 14043 describes the methodology of the LCA process.1.3.2 Principles of the LCAGenerally, an stocktaking of relevant inputs of resources, like water, raw materials including packages, energy and fuels, and outputs of detrimental wastes such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, solid wastes, nitrates and phosphates, released to the environment, are identified, quantified and compiled. Their potential burdens on the environment and ecosystem are determined and evaluated, and immediate measures and practices for improvements specific to the objectives of the assessment are found and assessed for use. Through such a dogmatic overview and perspective, the shifting of a potential environmental burden between life cycle stages or individual processes can be detected and by chance avoided.To be able to carry out the methodology of the LCA, a useful unit of the product should be taken and it is defined by the eccentric unit of the product being in call for, for instance 1L of bottled water can be evaluated from cradle to grave. The sum of each impact at each specific step or stage of the process flow help to provide an assessment score to determine the hotspots of the entire life cycle of the process. Therefore, measures to mitigate environmental impact have to be prioritized and emphasized on the hotspots.1.3.3 Life Cycle Assessment MethodologyThe life cycle assessment occurs in four main phases which fully explains the different steps and order for it to be carried out. form 1 Goal and Scope DefinitionThe starting signal stage is specifically the planning which implies defining and describing the product, activity, and process to be analyzed. The aims of the assessment are established and the life cycle steps and impact categories like energy or water use are identified and reviewed.Phase 2 Life cycle inventory analysisThis stage involves identifying and quantifying inputs like energy, water, materials and land usage and the outputs releases to the environment like air emissions, solid waste, water discharge, energy lost during the entire lifecycle.Phase 3 Life cycle impact assessmentAt this phase, the consequences of the material consumption and environment releases to human health and the eco-system, like irateification, global warming and ozone depletion are evaluated.Table exposition of some lifecycle impact categories (Narayanaswamy et al., 2002)Lifecycle Impact CategoriesDescriptionGlobal WarmingThe release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) have a warming effect on the atmosphere is known as global warming.AcidificationAcid gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide have the ability to produce acid rains when condensed and this therefore increases the acidity of the land and soil and cause even amends of buildings and other infrastructures.EutrophicationReleases of phosphates and nitrates in the thermionic tube water or in rivers can cause algae to bloom out, endangering the freshwater ecosystem.Human toxicitySome pollutants such as dioxine or dichlorobenzene can be absorbed in food stuffs and cause the death or disability of humans.Dryland salinity change of native lands can cause the increase of seawater logging catchments areas rising the salinity of the land.Phase 4 Life cycle InterpretationThe projectings from the inventory analysis and impact assessment are combined together so as to reach conclusions and recommendations which are consistent with the goal and scope of the assessment. The most significant impact and hotspot in the life cycle of the product, process or activity are simultaneously identified.1.3.4 Applications of Life Cycle AnalysisLife cycle assessment has had a wide application in the dairy industry and has started from farm to fork. In dairy landed estate, LCA has been used specifically in the quantification of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly in countries like New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Netherlands. Moreover, pertaining to milk processing activities like butter, yoghurt, sterilized and pasteurized milk, spray-dried milk, ice cream and among others, studies have not been done at a scientific level but also by reputated international industries, such as Unilever and Nestl. The aim of these multi-national corporations is to mitigate their misuse of resources and pollution problems and have noticed several positive economic and environmental outcomes (Narayanasawmy et al., 2002).It has been utilized in different formats. Many companies have used LCA as for establishing an eco-labelling scheme and therefore communicating about the environmental aspects about a particular product or service to consumers and stakeholders. Likewise, it is a useful tool to develop business strategies and policies and amplify the market shares. When combined with strategic decision models, LCA can be applied as an important supporting tool for business managers. Moreover, Life Cycle Assessment can be applied as a product and process improvement and design and thus allowing companies to comply with their local environmental regulations and laws.1.3.4.1 International Studies ground on LCAA life cycle assessment was applied to the dairy industry in Mainland Portugal in 2005. The objective of the research was to evaluate the milk production and agriculture practices using the LCA. The goal of the LCA also consisted of identifying the relative donation of each one of the different cow milk products, for instance, milk, yoghurt and curd cheese (Castanheira et al., 2005). The functional unit was 1L of raw milk. The boundary of the lifecycle flow was at raw milk processing, whereby packing and delivery to consumer were not considered. In the inventory analysis stage, the impact categories considered were mainly global warming, followed by photochemical oxidation, eutrophication and acidification.Results have shown that the production of milk for consumption has the greatest consequences on the environment due to 49% global warming, 51% acidification and 57% eutrophication with 60% release of ammonia (NH3) and methane (CH4). In the milk production process meant for consumption, there was also a great impact from COD and nitrates, which has been seen as the main source of contamination of underground rivers. As from the curd cheese production, there was high emission of carbon dioxide, which is normally the principal contributing factor of GHGs in Portugal. This is owing to the high consumption of different forms of energy during the milk transformation to cheese (Castanheira et al., 2005). Yoghurt production had the least burden on the environmental in the Mainland Portuga l with only 6% contribution of COD to waterlines. In addition, it was seen that most burdens are found at the raw milk production in the lifecycles of all milk for consumption, cheese and yoghurt flows.Another study was performed in Italy by the ENEA (Italian Agency for new Technology, Energy and the Environment) and ERVET (Regional Agency for the Development of Emilia-Romagna), whereby the whole lifecycle of butter production was investigated (Masoni et al., 1998). The main objective of the study was to stress on the difficulties underwent by the Small and fair Enterprises (SMEs) and try to establish a simpler methodology for LCA. Optimization or resources like water, energy and reducing wastes in terms of solid wastes, emissions of GHGs, and contamination of water were also focused. The functional taken was 5Kg butter delivered in 250g lot, under two alternative primary packaging, one by polyethene coupled with paper and secondly, aluminium foil integrated with a waxed greasepr oof paper. The steps evaluated were from cream production to post-consumer waste management, using the Simapro software.The sensitivity analysis conducted by Masoni and others (1998) for polyethene packaged butter revealed less accurate data can be used for most ancillary material processes, without impairing the overall inventory results. For instance, it was found that about 80% of water and 55% of energy were wasted at the raw material stage, with a total emission of approximately 55% CO2 and 50% NO2, and released of 53% of solid waste and heavy metals in waters. The emissions and heavy metal contamination were greater at the butter production compared to raw material processing, distribution and waste management. The solid wastes disposal was however drastic during the raw material processing. Moreover, the LCA study has not been completed for the cheese in aluminium packaging. It has been finally observed that a shortage of resources like capital, technical levels and awareness to environmental management can be limitations for an approach towards LCA as a decision-making tool for SMEs.Whilst investigating the environmental impacts of the LCA in the Kenya, Mwangome (2009) has restricted her study to the energy consumption only. The importance of the research was upon aiming the operation efficiency based on the size of the studied dairy companies against the transportation process in the chain. The functional unit was allocated to 1Kg of processed milk. The LCA methodology was utilized to investigate the energy balances between inputs and outputs and from data obtained the environmental consequences were processed as carbon dioxide. The farming stage was observed to be the hot spot with the most consumed energy compared to the steps in the life cycle. It was therefore seen that Diesel was the main element contributing to the high emission of CO2, though wood and electricity were also a commodity for energy provision to dairy plants. Hence, this observatio n has helped to find measures to curb down the use of fuels and therefore bringing up eco-efficiency within food supply chains.Likewise, Netherlands is known to be a principal producer of milk for ready use. Observations have been made that the emissions of greenhouse gases and c