New VALPRO Path Research Assesses the Environmental Sustainability of European Peanut Products

A new research paper from VALPRO Path assesses the environmental performance of three different products made from European-grown peanuts: peanut milk, peanut butter and peanut oil.

The paper, “Life cycle assessment of European cultivated peanuts: evaluating sustainability across different peanut products”, was published in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment in August 2026. The research was conducted by researchers from the National Technical University of Athens, Beotanics Ltd. and Teagasc Food Research Centre.

The study applies Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in order to explore the environmental impacts associated with European peanut cultivation and the subsequent processing of peanuts into three different food products. The assessment follows a cradle-to-gate approach, encompassing cultivation and deshelling through to the production of the final products.

The researchers evaluated a range of environmental impact categories, including climate change, fine particulate matter formation, fossil depletion, freshwater consumption and eutrophication. The analysis took into account the different processing requirements associated with peanut milk, peanut butter and peanut oil.

The study identified a number of differences in the environmental performance of the three products:

• The calculated carbon footprints were 0.183 kg CO₂ equivalent per kg for peanut milk, 2.196 kg CO₂ equivalent per kg for peanut butter and 4.358 kg CO₂ equivalent per kg for peanut oil.
• For peanut milk, packaging was identified as a major contributor to climate-change impacts.
• For peanut butter, roasting and drying were important environmental hotspots due to their high thermal energy requirements.
• For peanut oil, roasting, mechanical processing and refining were key hotspots, with particular emphasis on their energy and water requirements.
• The researchers also examined the impact of the different approaches to treating processing co-products, including peanut shells and peanut cake, on the calculated environmental impacts.

The study highlights the importance of the processing choices on the environmental footprint of plant-based food products. Although the same crop is used as the starting point, the processing pathway and resource requirements can have a significant impact on the environmental profile of the final product.

The research also provides valuable region-specific insights into European peanut production, an aspect that has been relatively under-researched compared to major peanut-producing regions outside of Europe. The cultivation data used in the study came from a Portuguese peanut production and processing system, with cultivation data spanning the 2024–2025 period.

Overall, the findings offer useful evidence for identifying environmental hotspots and potential opportunities for enhancing the sustainability of peanut-based food production through optimised cultivation and processing practices.

The research contributes to the wider objectives of VALPRO Path, supporting the development of sustainable and value-added European plant protein value chains and exploring new opportunities for crops such as peanuts.