Nutritional-environmental trade-offs in potato storage and processing for a sustainable healthy diet

Over the last decade, poor diets and limited access to nutritious foods have been critical drivers of micronutrient deficiency in human health. However, food fortification at an industrialized scale in developed countries has helped eliminate deficiency-related diseases. In developing countries, fortified foods and biofortified materials have been delivered to nutrient-deficient communities. While these strategies have produced significant and acclaimed results, reports from the Food and Agricultural Organization suggest that over a quarter of the world’s population suffers from micronutrient deficiency. This implies that there are still declines in micronutrients in food products at different nodes along the food value chain (FVC). Hence, this study sets out to track micronutrient leakages at specific nodes of the FVC using potato household storage, processing, and consumption in the United States as a case study. The experiment was laid out in a full factorial design with three storage conditions (cupboard at (17.5–22.4 °C, 32.7–48% RH), refrigerator at (–1.8 – 0.89 °C, 37.5–66.1% RH) and ideal condition at (7.2–11.1 °C, 85.0–92.4% RH)), two storage times (2 weeks (±3 days) and 5 weeks (±3 days)) and three household processing pathways (boiling in water, baking at 204 °C, and frying in vegetable oil at 149–204 °C). Additionally, we explored the dynamics of optimal household storage and processing pathways by placing a high, low, or equal priority on environmental sustainability or nutrient retention. The results show that storing potatoes for 5 weeks (±3 days) and processing through boiling (in water at 100 °C), baking (at 204 °C), and frying (in vegetable oil at 149–204 °C) are associated with 33.5%, 40.3% and 15.0% greater nutrient loss than a similar processing scenario after 2 weeks (±3 days) of storage. Additionally, storing and processing potatoes after 5 weeks (±3 days) results in approximately 2.2 ± 0.7 times more damage to human health, ecosystem safety, and resource availability than storing and processing potatoes after 2 weeks (±3 days), averaged between the different storage conditions. Storing and processing after 5 weeks (±3 days) results in approximately 53.6 ± 10.3 times more damage to human health, species disappearing per year, and USD loss than freshly purchased and processed potatoes. Perhaps the most significant finding from the study is that storing potatoes in cupboards and boiling (BL-CP pathway) is optimal for achieving a sustainable healthy diet, as it yields the optimal combination of nutrient retention and low environmental damage. Insights from the study could be translated to support consumer decision-making as they weigh the value of environmental sustainability against nutrition in the context of household potato storage and processing.