The origin of food (Life Cycle Oriented Origin Analysis LCOA)

The Life Cycle Oriented Origin Analysis can be used to calculate the origin of products along the value chain. The method has been tried and tested and recommended for food products, but it can also be applied to other types of products.

Together with partners, the Klade Technical Office developed the method. The specification was the complete recording of the product origin from the raw materials, intermediate stages to the finished packaged product. The model and reference point for the development of the method was the procedure of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The life cycle assessment records the product life cycle to estimate potential environmental impacts. To this end, the life cycle assessment sets normative requirements, for example on the definition of the product, the limits of the system under investigation and the quality of the data used. The Origin Analysis LCOA adopts these requirements but changes the objective. In concrete terms, this means that the basis for the preparation of life cycle assessments is integrated into the origin balance sheet and used in the “Origin Analysis” module to calculate the origin.

By adopting the requirements of the life cycle assessment, the LCOA offers significant advantages over existing origin labels or regional seals.

The Origin Analysis

• is generally applicable to all products,
• covers the entire value chain from the raw materials to the packaged product and
• calculates regional, supra-regional and unknown origin product shares.

The balance of origin is flexible in terms of

• the choice of geographical areas examined or identified in the results, and
• offers the possibility to perform the calculation either based on occurring mass flows and/or shown prices (costs).

This means that the product’s contribution to regional value creation can also be calculated. The balance of origin enables comparisons to be made, either

• between the origin of products in the same product group or
• between the actual origin of a product and the origin expectations of consumers with regard to this product.