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.

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Foods

Each food is identified by a unique code (idFood) in a code system of choice, a name, and a description. Food codes can have a hierarchical structure (as in the FoodEx1 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.

Table 3 Table definition for Foods.

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	No
Description	AlphaNumeric(200)	Food description.	Description	No

Food properties

Additional food properties. This table is deprecated. See table FoodUnitWeights which partly replaces this table for data on food unit weights.

Table aliases: FoodProperties, FoodProperty.

Table 4 Table definition for Food properties.

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.

Table 5 Table definition for Food unit weights.

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	Yes
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.

Table 6 Table definition for Food hierarchies.

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.

Table 7 Table definition for Facets.

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.

Table 8 Table definition for Facet descriptors.

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.

Table 9 Table definition for Processing types.

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.

Table 10 Table definition for Food consumption quantifications.

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