Life Cycle Analysis of Snake Fruit Chips with Cradle-to-Gate Approach for Responsible Production and Consumption

The snake fruit chips industry generates significant environmental impacts due to fuel emissions and production waste. Food loss and waste occur at various stages, including processing, storage, and distribution. To address these challenges, this study proposes the integration of circular economy principles by repurposing snake fruit peel and seed by-products into powdered beverages, based on the follow-up scenario for by-product utilization. Environmental impacts were assessed using OpenLCA 2.0 software and the ReCiPe Midpoint 2016 method, focusing on categories such as global warming potential, stratospheric ozone depletion, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and human carcinogenic toxicity. For every 15.024 kg of raw material used, 1 kg of chips was produced, requiring a total energy input of 30.277 MJ/kg, of which 42.3% was electrical energy, 51.2% LPG, and 6.5% fuel. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) results indicated that the production stage contributed most significantly to environmental impacts, with Global Warming Potential (GWP) as the dominant category. Implementing circular economy strategies not only reduces environmental harm but also enhances resource efficiency and promotes sustainable consumption and production practices within the snake fruit chips industry.