Nutrient value loss tracking system and method

• US 10,311,212 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2013
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Riediger, Eileen
• Primary Examiner(s): Chad, Aniss
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cothran, Bernard E
• Application Number:
  US14/086,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20150044643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,021 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets

Abstract

A system and method include exploding a recipe via a computer system for a process to make an end food product into a set of hierarchical process steps, obtaining nutrient values for each input material to be used in making the end food product, obtaining loss profiles for input materials, the nutrient loss profiles including a process loss profile for steps in the process to make the end food product and a storage loss profile for storing intermediate food product resulting during the process, and performing a hierarchical based nutrient loss calculation using the nutrient values and loss profiles to quantify nutrients remaining in the end food product.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

exploding, using a computer system, a recipe for a process to make an end food product, into a set of hierarchical process steps;

obtaining nutrient values for each input material to be used in making the end food product;

obtaining nutrient loss profiles for input materials, the nutrient loss profiles including a process loss profile for steps in the process to make the end food product and a storage loss profile for storing intermediate food product resulting during the process; and

performing, using the computer system, a hierarchical based nutrient loss calculation using the nutrient values and loss profiles to quantify nutrients remaining in the end food product, wherein performing the hierarchical nutrient loss calculation comprises building an equation system for each process output.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein storage losses are calculated on top of process losses.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the process loss profile is a percentage of a nutrient value lost during a process step to make the end food product.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein a storage loss profile is a percentage of nutrient value lost during storage of a material.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein exploding the recipe results in graph showing input and output flows between stages of the recipe.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the equation systems are built into a matrix based on the graph.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the matrix is transformed into reduced row echelon form.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a final calculated nutrient content based on the hierarchical based nutrient loss calculation, wherein the final calculated nutrient content is used to generate a label for the end food product.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage device having instructions for causing a computer to execute a method, the method comprising:

exploding a recipe for a process to make an end food product, into a set of hierarchical process steps;

obtaining nutrient values for each input material to be used in making the end food product;

obtaining nutrient loss profiles for input materials, the nutrient loss profiles including a process loss profile for steps in the process to make the end food product and a storage loss profile for storing intermediate food product resulting during the process; and

performing a hierarchical based nutrient loss calculation using the nutrient values and loss profiles to quantify nutrients remaining in the end food product, wherein performing the hierarchical nutrient loss calculation comprises building an equation system for each process output.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 9 wherein storage losses are calculated on top of process losses.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 9 wherein the process loss profile is a percentage of a nutrient value lost during a process step to make the end food product.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 9 wherein a storage loss profile is a percentage of nutrient value lost during storage of a material.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 9 wherein exploding the recipe results in a graph showing input and output flow'"'"'s between stages of the recipe.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 13 wherein the equation systems are built into a matrix based on the graph.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 14 wherein the matrix is transformed into reduced row echelon form.

16. A system comprising:

a processor;

a storage device coupled to the processor, the storage device having a program to perform operations when executed by the processor, the operations comprising;

exploding a recipe for a process to make an end food product, into a set of hierarchical process steps;

obtaining nutrient values for each input material to be used in making the end food product;

obtaining nutrient loss profiles for input materials, the nutrient loss profiles including a process loss profile for steps in the process to make the end food product and a storage loss profile for storing intermediate food product resulting during the process; and

performing a hierarchical based nutrient loss calculation using the nutrient values and loss profiles to quantify nutrients remaining in the end food product, wherein performing the hierarchical nutrient loss calculation comprises building an equation system for each process output.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein storage losses are calculated on top of process losses, wherein the process loss profile is a percentage of a nutrient value lost during a process step to make the end food product, and wherein a storage loss profile is a percentage of nutrient value lost during storage of a material.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein exploding the recipe results in a graph showing input and output flows between stages of the recipe.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the equation systems are built into a matrix based on the graph.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the matrix is transformed into reduced row echelon form.