Water footprint of a large-sized food company: The case of Barilla pasta production

The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater use taking into account both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or a producer. The concept of water footprint can be applied to business companies to provide indications about the sustainability of their production process. We considered the case of pasta production from a large-sized company, Barilla. The water footprint of 1. kg of Barilla pasta has been shown to range between 1.336 and 2.847. l of water, depending on the production site, local environmental conditions and agricultural techniques used to cultivate durum wheat. Relevant virtual water fluxes, involved in pasta and durum wheat trade among different countries, were also quantified and analysed, demonstrating the need to consider water-related production processes on a global scale when examining the water footprint of an international food company. © 2013 The Authors.