Diets taxonomy

Introduction

The Diets taxonomy is one of the taxonomies that could be added to OFF. The idea is to have a list of basic, relative simple diets, that are maintained by OFF. The definition of a diet is not mixed the other taxonomies.

Use cases

• Food preferences, as is now used by OFF.
• Allergen warnings
• Food selection in shops (6 seconds decisions).
• Replacement of allergens and nova taxonomies.
• removal of vegan/vegetarian in ingredients

Definition

A diet can be defined in relation to the ingredients, categories and labels on a product. Does the product contain ingredient X? Does the product have an Ecoscore D or better? Etc. A diet can be described in terms of entries in the taxonomies. The basic idea is to determine how compliant a product is to a diet.

Compliant levels

Depending on the diet it might me needed to have two(?) or more levels of. If we use 5 levels, it is possible to fit most diets.

Compliance levels:

• Certified compliant - a third party checks a product and practices and declares conformance, for instance Afdiag for gluten free or the European Vegetarian Union for a vegan diet;
• Claimed compliant - a producers puts a label on the product, which claims that it is compliant. For instance a label like "Suitable for Vegetarians";
• Compliant - no ingredients and labels could be found that indicate non-compliance
• Possibly non-compliant - the ingredients fit with the diet, but traces indicate that it might not be compliant;
• Non-compliant - there are ingredients or labels that do not fit the diet;

Worst to best

When calculating the level of compliance one should start at the worst (non-compliant) and rule that option out. And move upwards to certified compliant. In case of contradictions, use the worst.

Usage

This is not in use by OFF. But has been implemented in FoodViewer and PleaseNoGarlic

Maintenance

Maybe some special moderation is needed to keep the diets true to their goals.

Ideas

• It is always possible to add more diets. In fact there is no limit. A diet can be very personalised and be a combination of the above.
• Incorporate the folksonomy into diets. People with allergies contact producers to get clarification on ingredients like spices or herbs. They could register this information as a folksonomy property.

Remarks

There is a XML-file available with 27 diet definitions.