Background: food choices play a critical role in human and planetary health. While plant-based foods are known to be sustainable, beef
has by far the greatest impact on the environment. The aim of this work was to evaluate the sustainability and nutritional profile of food
choices made by workers in a hospital canteen in northeastern Italy.
Methods: we photographed the meals (canteen trays, CTs) of all the workers who ate lunch at the hospital canteen in Udine (Italy) on 5
working days in August 2022 and gave their consent to participate. We estimated carbon (CF) and water (WF) footprints using the SUEATABLE
LIFE database1, and energy and nutrient content using the Italian Food Composition Database for Epidemiological Studies2.
Recipes and portion sizes were provided by canteen staff.
Results: we analyzed 798 meals. Half of the participants were women and half were men aged 22 to 66 years (median=42). Meals
contained a median of 795 (652—963) kcal/CT of which 22 (18—25) %En came from proteins, 32 (25—40) %En from fats, and 45
(38—52) %En from carbohydrates. The median CF and WF were 1264 (889—2136) g CO2eq./CT and 1151 (855—1694) LH2O/CT,
respectively. Men’s CTs were higher in energy (908 vs. 799 kcal), CF (1476 vs. 1173 g CO2eq./CT), and WF (1303 vs. 1151 L H2O/CT)
than women’s CTs (p<0.001), with men more likely than women to choose a second course with meat (51% vs. 41%). Vegetarian meals
(N=122; 63% of women) had higher fats and saturated fatty acids (37 vs. 31 and 15 vs. 8 %En/CT) and lower proteins (16 vs. 22 %En/
CT), CF (989 vs. 1413 g CO2eq./CT), and WF (941 vs. 1313 L H2O/CT) than omnivorous meals (p<0.001).
Conclusion: meals were overall balanced in macronutrients but high in CF and WF, especially in men. This may be due to the frequent
beef-based meals offered throughout the week. In addition, vegetarian choices were generally poor, as meat was usually replaced with
cheese and there was a lack of offering of suitable plant-based meat alternatives. Interventions are needed to improve sustainability and
raise awareness on sustainable food choices, targeting both workers and canteen services.
1 Petersson et al. Scientific Data. 2021, 8:127.
2 Gnagnarella et al. libreriauniversitaria.it edizioni, Padova, 2022.
