Producing healthier food requires expertise in methods that yield significant benefits for human health, sustainability, economic growth, cultural heritage, and overall well-being. Investing in conscientious and sustainable food systems can improve individual and planetary quality of life by preventing diseases, delaying ageing, and enhancing well-being. While healthy eating habits begin at home, schools play a pivotal role in reinforcing them from an early age. Despite progress, challenges remain, underscoring the need for prioritizing food education and literacy across all ages. Knowledge of how sustainable food production impacts personal health and well-being is critical. A holistic approach is essential for addressing these complexities, considering physical, mental, social, and environmental factors to identify balanced and effective solutions. Such analyses examine how system components interact, guiding the development of sustainable practices. The DM4You project exemplifies this approach. It unites Portuguese partners to promote local food consumption, focusing on soups, an integral part of traditional Portuguese cuisine, made with diverse vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and sometimes by-products. DM4You monitors 80 healthy participants over three months to assess dietary habits, focusing on soup and fruit consumption. This crossover study evaluates the influence of diet on health, offering insights into sustainable and health-promoting dietary practices.

Extensive cow-calf beef cattle farms play a significant role in Portuguese livestock production, but records of important production variables, such as calf mortality, are scarce. To assess herd-level calf mortality and its potential economic impact, farmers from the Alentejo region were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding herd size, feeding and reproductive management practices, calf mortality (from birth to weaning), and detection of the main morbidity causes, as well as of sudden, unexplained deaths during the previous 12 months. Farmers were also requested to quantitatively assess the economic impact of calf mortality on their annual revenue. In the majority of farms, the herd size was larger than 100 animals. The median stocking rate was 0.41 adult animals/hectare, and 70% of farmers stated their farm was self-sufficient in forage. The percent of live births that resulted in weaned calves averaged 94.3%, which led to the assumption of a 5.7% calf mortality rate from birth to weaning. In the previous 12 months, 78.8% of the farms identified at least one case of calf diarrhea, 60.7% identified at least one case of respiratory disease, and 82.1% had at least one sudden, unexplained calf death. As expected, farmers that assessed a higher impact of calf losses on their annual economic revenue were also those who reported higher incidences of calf diarrhea, respiratory disease, and sudden, unexplained deaths. One-quarter of the farmers were unable to assess the economic impact of calf mortality on the farm’s revenue. Herd size appears to have a predictive value on calf mortality in the first month of life, and from 30 days to weaning. The number of sudden, unexplained calf deaths seems to have a predictive value on overall calf mortality (from birth to weaning), suggesting that the farms’ management practices probably play an important role in calf mortality throughout the suckling period. Further studies are needed to fully understand calf mortality in Portuguese extensive rearing systems.

The variability and heterogeneity found in Évora cheeses, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), can affect consumers’ choices. Assessing the ripening conditions and their effect can be helpful. To study the effect of ripening duration in Évora cheese PDO, sensory and chemical analyses were performed in cheese samples subjected to 30, 60, and 120 days of ripening under controlled conditions (temperature 14 to 15 °C and humidity 65 to 70%). Sensory analysis was conducted with a homogenous panel previously familiarized with the product after a short training period, and chemical analyses including pH, moisture, NaCl content, a_w, and salt-in-moisture were determined. Panelists were able to distinguish the differences in the organoleptic characteristics of the three cheese stages, and chemical determinations showed significant differences between stages. Interrater agreement was higher in the sensory evaluation of cheeses with a longer maturation period. As expected, cheeses in the 120 days ripening period presented lower pH, moisture, and water activity and had higher salt-in-moisture content. This stage received the highest scores in hardness and color of the crust, intensity, pungency of the aroma, intensity of taste and piquancy, and firmness and granular characteristics of texture. Overall acceptance of cheese samples was positive, regardless of the ripening stage, which probably reflects both the homogeneity of taster profiles and the previous knowledge of this particular product. The degree of ripeness influences the physical, chemical, and sensory characteristics but does not affect the acceptance of this product by the consumer.

The Mediterranean Diet (MD) has emerged as a comprehensive model for promoting human health and environmental sustainability. This review proposes reconceptualization of the traditional MD pyramid, highlighting its functional food components and their relevance to modern health challenges. Rooted in a rich cultural and gastronomic heritage, the MD extends beyond nutritional adequacy. It offers substantial nutraceutical benefits due to its high content of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, and phytosterols. These compounds contribute to the prevention and management of chronic non-communicable diseases through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Simultaneously, the MD aligns with sustainable food system principles: it is predominantly plant-based; it promotes seasonal and local food sourcing; and it supports minimal food waste. In addition, this dietary pattern has been associated with a significantly lower ecological footprint compared to Western diets, thus supporting broader environmental goals. Ultimately, the MD stands as a scientifically grounded, culturally embedded, and ecologically viable approach to foster both individual and planetary wellbeing (One Health concept).

The Mediterranean Diet (MD) has emerged as a comprehensive model for promoting human health and environmental sustainability. Rooted in a rich cultural and gastro-nomic heritage, the MD extends beyond nutritional adequacy, offering substantial nutraceutical benefits attributed to its high content of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, and phytosterols. These compounds contribute to the prevention and management of chronic non-communicable diseases through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective mechanisms. Simultaneously, the MD aligns with sustainable food system principles, characterised by a predominantly plant-based composition, seasonal and local food sourcing, reduced reliance on animal-derived products, and minimal food waste. This dietary pattern has been associated with a significantly lower ecological footprint compared to Western diets, thus supporting broader environmental goals. This paper reviews the historical evolution, nutritional profile, bioactive composition, and epide-miological evidence supporting the MD, and proposes a reconceptualization of the traditional MD pyramid to emphasise its functional food components. Ultimately, the MD stands as a scientifically grounded, culturally embedded, and ecologically viable approach to foster both individual and planetary wellbeing.

A new prototype of a ripening chamber was proposed in the CFD4CHEESE project aiming to evaluate the application of computational fluid dynamics in the optimization of traditional cheeses ripening conditions. With the purpose of evaluating the possible impact on the energy cost of cheese ripening in three Portuguese regions (Setúbal, Évora, and Beja), we demonstrated the potential economic benefits of the prototype. The proposed automation process would imply higher productive efficiency, reducing the consumption of water and electricity. The simple consideration of the reduction of electricity costs is enough to recover the investment needed to have the new ripening chambers, meaning that the investment is economically viable. In addition to the economic impact in firms, which are mostly small and medium firms, our results also contribute to an increase on the sustainable use of natural resources.