Optimising food composition data flow within the UK food supply chain and to external stakeholders

The UK national food composition tables provide reasonable coverage of primary produce and basic raw and cooked foods, but it is difficult for them to keep abreast of the fast moving processed and convenience food market. The food industry has an inherent need to generate and share food composition data on food products and therefore many of these data exist within the food industry, embedded in their core Enterprise and Resource Planning (ERP) software. A survey was conducted to explore the current uses and flow of food composition data within the UK food supply chain, and identify potential barriers to effective data transfer. Results indicate that providing food composition data is perceived as a frustrating, time-consuming task, and limitations lie in the lack of commonly agreed systems, processes and standards for the transfer of these data from those who generate it to those who need it. Within logistics and finance functions, industry is moving closer to a completely collaborative model via implementation of the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) infrastructure and methodology. This approach, if implemented for food composition data, has the potential to enable high quality food composition data to be accessible ‘at the push of a button’.