Foods data formats
Foods are of interest in (dietary) consumption assessments and the sources of exposure within exposure assessments. The foods table is the main table of the food definitions. Relevant food related data, such as processing types, additional properties (e.g., unit weight and brand loyalty), facets, and hierarchies, can be described in the food properties, food hierarchies, and faces and facet descriptors tables.
Foods
Each food is identified by a unique code (idFood) in a code system of choice, a name, and a description. In the EuroMix data collection, FoodEx1 codes are used for both foods in consumption surveys (foods as eaten) and for raw agricultural commodities (foods-as-measured). Example: ‘A.19.01.002.002’ is pizza and pizza-like pies, cheese, and vegetables and ‘A.01.02.001’ is wheat grain. Food codes can have a hierarchical structure (as in the FoodEx1 and FoodEx2 coding systems), using ‘.’ or ‘$’ as separator between adjacent hierarchical levels, e.g. ‘A.05’ is fruits and fruit products, ‘A.05.01’ is citrus fruits, and ‘A.05.01.001’ is grapefruit (citrus paradisi). Additional forms of foods, such as foods in processed form, can be specified via food facets according to the FoodEx2 system of EFSA.
Table aliases: Foods, Food.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idFood |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
The unique identification code of the food. |
idFood, Code, FoodId, FoodCode, Food, Id |
Yes |
Name |
AlphaNumeric(100) |
The name of the food. |
Name, FoodName, Name1, FoodName1 |
No |
Description |
AlphaNumeric(200) |
Food description. |
Description |
No |
Food properties
Additional food properties, such as portion sizes can be attached using the food properties table.
Table aliases: FoodProperties, FoodProperty.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idFood |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
The code of the food to which the property is attached. The provided food code should match with a code of the foods table. |
idFood, FoodId, Food, FoodCode, Code |
Yes |
Food unit weights
Food unit weights as specified for a food, and possibly a location.
Table aliases: FoodUnitWeights, UnitWeights.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idFood |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
The unique identification code of the food. |
idFood, Code, FoodId, FoodCode, Food, Id |
Yes |
Location |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
The location for which this food unit weight is defined. If not specified, then the value is considered a default unit weight that can be used when there is no location specific unit weight. |
Location |
No |
ValueType |
UnitWeightValueType | The value type of the unit weight value (i.e., raw agricultural commodity or edible portion). Controlled terminology. |
ValueType, UnitWeightValueType |
No |
Qualifier |
ValueQualifier | Qualifier of the unit weight value, e.g. equal-to (=) or smaller-than (<). If omitted, = is assumed. |
Qualifier, QualifierType |
No |
Value |
Numeric |
Unit weight value in grams. |
Value, UnitWeightValue, UnitWeight |
Yes |
Reference |
AlphaNumeric(200) |
External reference(s) to source of the unit weight value. |
Reference, References |
No |
Food hierarchies
Food items are commonly categorised in hierarchies, e.g. oranges and mandarins are citrus fruits. For example FoodEx is a food description and food classification (FDFC) system consisting of a large number of individual food items aggregated into food groups and broader food categories in a hierarchical structure of parent-child relationships.
Table aliases: FoodHierarchies, FoodHierarchy, FoodsHierarchy.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idFood |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
Food node. |
idFood, FoodId, Food, Code |
Yes |
idParent |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
Parent node of the food. |
idParent, ParentId, Parent, ParentCode |
Yes |
Facets
Food codes can be linked to facets, as e.g. in FoodEx2. FoodEx2 is a comprehensive food classification and description system aimed at covering the need to describe food in data collections across different food safety domains. See the EFSA catalogue browser for facets currently used e.g. the facet to describe processing technology is: F28 process.
Table aliases: Facets, Facet, FoodFacets, FoodFacet.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idFacet |
AlphaNumeric(10) |
The food code of the food to which the facet is attached. |
idFacet, Code, Id, FacetCode, FacetId |
Yes |
Name |
AlphaNumeric(200) |
Facet name |
Name, FacetName |
No |
Description |
AlphaNumeric(200) |
Additional description of the facet. |
Description |
No |
Facet descriptors
Facet descriptors are elements of additional information on a facet such as processing.
Table aliases: FacetDescriptors, FacetDescriptor, FoodFacetDescriptors, FoodFacetDescriptor.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idFacetDescriptor |
AlphaNumeric(10) |
The identification code of the facet descriptor. |
idFacetDescriptor, Code, Id, FacetCode, FacetId |
Yes |
Name |
AlphaNumeric(200) |
The name of the facet descriptor. |
Name, FacetDescriptorName |
No |
Description |
AlphaNumeric(200) |
Additional description of the facet descriptor. |
Description |
No |
Processing types
Table aliases: ProcessingTypes, ProcessingType.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idProcessingType |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
The unique identification code of the processing type. |
idProcessingType, ProcessingTypeId, ProcType, Id |
Yes |
Name |
AlphaNumeric(100) |
The processing name. |
ProcName, Name |
No |
Description |
AlphaNumeric(200) |
The processing type description. |
Description |
No |
DistributionType |
ProcessingDistributionType | The distribution type. Simulated processing factors are restricted to the interval (0,1) using a logistic-normal distribution (default) or simulated processing factors are restricted to positive values using a log-normal distribution. |
DistributionType, DistType |
No |
BulkingBlending |
Boolean |
For types of processing applied on large batches, e.g., juicing, sauce/puree. Default is no bulking blending. |
BulkingBlending, BulkBlending, IsBulkBlending |
No |
Food consumption quantifications
Food consumption quantifications record information about food consumption quantities that are associated with unit-consumptions of foods.
Table aliases: FoodConsumptionQuantifications, FoodConsumptionQuantification.
| Name | Type | Description | Aliases | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
idFood |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
The food code of the quantification. |
idFood, FoodId, Food |
Yes |
idUnit |
AlphaNumeric(50) |
The code of the unit of consumption. E.g spoon, plate, cup. Units may depend on food. |
idUnit, UnitId, Unit |
Yes |
UnitWeight |
Numeric |
The unit weight/portion size of the food, specified in grams. |
UnitWeight |
Yes |
UnitWeightUncertainty |
Numeric |
The uncertainty in unit weight/portion size (%). |
UnitWeightUncertainty, UnitWeight% |
No |
AmountUncertainty |
Numeric |
The uncertainty in amount consumed (%). The label ‘general’ specifies a default value for the uncertainty when specific information for combinations of food and unit in food consumptions table is not available. |
AmountUncertainty, Amount% |
No |