Ingredients Extraction and Analysis

This page describes how the ingredients list extraction and ingredients analysis is done on Open Food Facts and points to ressources that could be used to improve it.

Objectives

Ingredients list extraction

The goal of ingredients list extraction is to get the text of the ingredients list of each product in exactly the same form as it appears on the product package and label.

Current process

Ingredients list extraction

Data sources for ingredients lists

The possible input sources for the ingredients lists are:

• Ingredients lists typed in by users
  • Time consuming and not pleasant task, especially on mobile
  • Can contain typos, but usually typed ingredients lists are very close to what is written on the product
• Ingredients lists given by manufacturers in data files
  • Usually of very good quality, but depending on manufacturers, can contain typos and sometimes formatting errors
• Photos of product labels
  • Photo quality varies a lot
    • Some products are hard to photograph (round cans and bottles, foil bags etc.)
    • Sometimes very poor lighting, orientation, camera, focus etc.