Food Item Ontology

Consumers’ eating behaviour has evolved over the years. People are more concerned about their health and the environmental-friendliness of the food they eat. Despite their willingness to do better, consumers are struggling to find their way to healthier and more sustainable eating habits as data is coming from different sources.

Combining information from different research fields on specific food attributes (e.g. information on the nutrient and taste profile) and linking them to the food items the attribute applies to, will help in designing new healthy and sustainable food products and in supporting people to eat healthier and more sustainable diets.

With the Food Item Ontology (FIO), data on different food topics from multiple databases can be gathered. These databases might have different definitions for food, but when connected to the concept of food item as defined in the FIO ontology, it becomes clear that the databases talk about the same thing. Because of the consensus of the concept and relations, the data connected to the FIO ontology will be more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) for different (smart) software applications.

The FIO is developing continuously based on new data and knowledge. To date, the FIO mainly focuses on connecting and storing data on food items in the context of food advice, including:

• Nutrient profiles
• Amount of amino acids
• Taste
• Meal moments
• Weights and measures
• Daily reference intakes
• Climate impact factors
• Biological origin

Future possibilities include allergen profile, hazard profile and physical state of food items.