Alternative-ingredient Recommendation Based on Co-occurrence Relation on Recipe Database

AbstractThis paper proposes a recommendation method of alternative-ingredients based on co-occurrence relation on recipe database. Currently, dishes are often cooked with reference to recipes on Website. Convenience to access so many and varied recipes encourages beginners to cook. Recipe on Website list ingredients used for a dish. However, for some reason, some of the listed ingredients cannot be used for the cooking; this paper defines such ingredient as “exchange-ingredient.” To cook a dish, it should alternate exchange-ingredient and another one (i.e., alternative-ingredient). This paper proposes two algorithms to recommend alternative-ingredient. Through the cooking and tasting experiments, it was confirmed that the each of the proposed methods were effective for each intended purpose

Alternative Ingredient Recommendation: A Co-occurrence and Ingredient Category Importance Based Approach

As many people will refer to a recipe when cooking, there are several recipe-sharing websites that include lots of recipes and make recipes easier to access than before. However, there is often the case that we could not get all the ingredients listed on the recipe. Prior research on alternative ingredient substitution has built a recommendation system considering the suitability of a recommended ingredient with the remained ingredients. In this paper, in addition to suitability, we also take the diversity of the ingredient categories and the novelty of new combination of ingredients into account. Besides, we combine suitability with novelty as an index, to see whether our method could help find out a new combination of ingredients that is possibly to be a new dish. Our evaluation results show that our proposed method attains a comparable or even better performance on each perspective

A Word Embedding-Based Method for Unsupervised Adaptation of Cooking Recipes

Studying food recipes is indispensable to understand the science of cooking. An essential problem in food computing is the adaptation of recipes to user needs and preferences. The main difficulty when adapting recipes is in determining ingredients relations, which are compound and hard to interpret. Word embedding models can catch the semantics of food items in a recipe, helping to understand how ingredients are combined and substituted. In this work, we propose an unsupervised method for adapting ingredient recipes to user preferences. To learn food representations and relations, we create and apply a specific-domain word embedding model. In contrast to previous works, we not only use the list of ingredients to train the model but also the cooking instructions. We enrich the ingredient data by mapping them to a nutrition database to guide the adaptation and find ingredient substitutes. We performed three different kinds of recipe adaptation based on nutrition preferences, adapting to similar ingredients, and vegetarian and vegan diet restrictions. With a 95% of confidence, our method can obtain quality adapted recipes without a previous knowledge extraction on the recipe adaptation domain. Our results confirm the potential of using a specific-domain semantic model to tackle the recipe adaptation task.European Commission 816303University of Granad

Sequential Event Prediction

In sequential event prediction, we are given a “sequence database” of past event sequences to learn from, and we aim to predict the next event within a current event sequence. We focus on applications where the set of the past events has predictive power and not the specific order of those past events. Such applications arise in recommender systems, equipment maintenance, medical informatics, and in other domains. Our formalization of sequential event prediction draws on ideas from supervised ranking. We show how specific choices within this approach lead to different sequential event prediction problems and algorithms. In recommender system applications, the observed sequence of events depends on user choices, which may be influenced by the recommendations, which are themselves tailored to the user’s choices. This leads to sequential event prediction algorithms involving a non-convex optimization problem. We apply our approach to an online grocery store recommender system, email recipient recommendation, and a novel application in the health event prediction domain

Integration of environment and nutrition in life cycle assessment of food items: opportunities and challenges

This report is the outcome of a consensus-building project to agree on best practices for environmental and nutritional Life Cycle Assessment (nLCA) methodology, and identify future research needs. The project involved 30 nutritional and environmental LCA researchers from 18 countries. It focused on the assessment of food items (as opposed to meals or diets).Best practice recommendations were developed to address the intended purpose of an LCA study and related modeling approach, choice of an appropriate functional unit, assessment of nutritional value, and reporting nLCA results. An nLCA study should report the quantities of as many essential nutrients as possible and aim to provide information on the nutritional quality and/or health impacts in addition to nutrient quantities. Outstanding issues requiring further research attention include: defining a minimum number of nutrients to be considered in an nLCA study; treatment of nutrients to limit; use of nutrient indexes; further development of Impact Assessment methods; representation of nutritional changes that may occur during subsequent distribution and food preparation in cradle-to-gate nLCA studies; and communication of data uncertainty and variability. More data are required for different regions (particularly developing countries); for the processing, distribution, retail, and consumption life cycle stages; and for food loss and waste. Finally, there is a need to extend nLCA methodology for the assessment of meals and diets, to consider further how to account for the multi-functionality of food in a sustainability framework, and to set nLCA studies within the context of environmental limits.These results provide a robust basis for improving nLCA methodology and applying it to identify solutions that minimize the trade-offs between nourishing populations and safeguarding the environment

Ready-to-Use Food (RUF) from composite flour of local commodities in Banten Province, Indonesia for prevention and rehabilitation of malnutrition in children under five

Indonesia faces a serious problem of malnutrition especially stunting and underweight caused by micronutrient deficiencies. The high prevalence of undernutrition was also found in Banten Province, Java Island, the most populated island in Indonesia. The Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in 2012 reported that of about 24.5 million children under five years of old, approximately 37% and 12% of them were stunted and wasted. Furthermore, based on the Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) in 2013 and 2018, the prevalence of stunting in children under five years old was 37.2 % and 30.8%, while the proportion of underweight children was 19.6% and 17.7%. The undernourished children have an increased mortality rate, risk of illness and infections, cognitive shortages, delayed development, and poor school performance. Ready-to-use food (RUF) is a kind of food easily consumed without much preparation and can be made using various techniques for targeted consumers. RUF can be produced using locally available food resources, which may be affordable for most people suffering from undernutrition. To improve and accomplish the nutrient content of RUF to meet the standard for rehabilitation food for malnutrition, the combination of various food resources might enhance the nutritional composition. This nutritious formulation must have the following attributes: good nutritional quality in macro and micronutrient content, highly palatable taste, consistency, and texture suitable for feeding to children, no additional processing required prior to feeding, product stability, long shelf life, and readily available ingredients. This research was divided into three main objectives. The first objective was a baseline assessment of the nutritional condition of the target group of children below five years old. The second section was RUF biscuit product development. The third objective was to investigate the nutritional outcomes of the field study in Banten Indonesia, particularly in WHZ and weight after the RUF provision and weight gain of the children and acceptability. The RUF biscuit was made from the composite flour of local food resources available in Banten province Indonesia which are still underutilized. The result of nutrition content analysis in local food resources showed that the foods have a high nutritional composition as a source of macronutrients and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Due to poor handling of post-harvest and processing into the intermediate product (flour), some vitamins were lost during the process. Based on the baseline assessment in 2017, of the 105 children, 4.8% and 11.4% of them were wasted and overweight-obese, while 40% and 23.8% of the children were stunted and underweight. Based on the mid-upper-arm circumference, 16.1% of children were categorized as the risk of chronic energy deficiency (CED). In addition, it was found that most of the children have insufficient intake of protein, Vitamin A, Iron, and Zinc. Twelve recipes developed using the combination of local food resources showed the macronutrient composition that met the requirement for the treatment of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) children, but not for micronutrient (vitamin and minerals). Five recipes (recipes 3, 4, 7, 11, and 12) were selected based on nutritional composition and sensory evaluation. The selected recipes were continued to further research of acceptability study in Banten, Indonesia. Before the acceptability study in the field, the micronutrient composition of the recipes chosen was improved according to the MAM treatment recommendation. It fortified the RUF with micronutrient premix. The micronutrient stability test was performed to analyze the loss due to baking. Around 15-28% of the vitamins (A, B1, B2, and E) were lost after baking, which was slightly lower than the other published articles, perhaps due to the short process of baking (15 minutes). Furthermore, the micronutrient sources were from the vitamin-mineral premix with higher stability than that from foods. Minerals content was stable during the baking process. Before the acceptability study started, five fortified cookie recipes were tested to select two for the acceptance and intervention pilot study. Most of the children in the acceptance study reported that they accepted and liked the RUF cookies. The consumption of RUF biscuits for two weeks led to an improvement in the nutritional status: Reduction of severe wasting (WHZ) from 5.7% to 4.3% and of severe underweight (WAZ) from 8.6% to 4.3%. There was no difference in terms of stunting (HAZ). Thus, it has been shown that the developed RUF biscuits have the potential to reduce malnutrition in the under 5-year-olds in the target area.Unterernährung stellt ein ernsthaftes Problem in Indonesien dar, insbesondere Untergewicht und Stunting aufgrund eines Mikronährstoffmangels. Die hohe Prävalenz von Unterernährung auf der Insel Java (der wichtigsten Insel Indonesiens) wurde auch in der Provinz Banten festgestellt. Laut dem Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) von 2012 sind in Indonesien von ca. 24,5 Millionen Kindern unter 5 Jahren etwa 9,2 Millionen (37%) zu klein für ihr Alter (Stunting) und 12% zu leicht für ihre Körpergröße (Wasting). Basierend auf den Daten des Basic Health Survey aus den Jahren 2013 und 2018 lag die Prävalenz von Stunting bei Kindern unter fünf Jahren bei 37,2% bzw. 30,8%, von Untergewicht bei 19,6% bzw. 17,7%. Unterernährung resultiert in einem erhöhten Mortalitäts- und Morbiditätsrisiko, außerdem weisen diese Kinder häufiger Entwicklungsverzögerungen, kognitive Defizite, sowie schlechtere Schulleistungen und eine geringere Dauer der Schulbildung auf. Ready-to-Use Food (RUF) stellt ein gebrauchsfertiges Lebensmittel dar, das ohne weitere Zubereitung verzehrt werden kann. Es wird für Personen mit besonderen Bedürfnissen konzipiert. RUF kann mit lokal verfügbaren Nahrungsmitteln hergestellt werden, die für die meisten unterernährten Menschen erschwinglich sein sollten. Um den Nährstoffgehalt von RUF zu verbessern und um die Kriterien für ein Lebensmittel zur Behandlung einer Unterernährung zu erfüllen, kann die Kombination verschiedener Nahrungsressourcen die Nährstoffzusammensetzung verbessern. Ein solches diätetisches Lebensmittel sollte folgenden Eigenschaften aufweisen: gute Nährstoffqualität in Bezug auf Makro- und Mikronährstoffgehalt, sehr guter Geschmack, ansprechende Konsistenz und Textur, die für die Ernährung von Kindern geeignet sind, keine zusätzliche Verarbeitung vor dem Verzehr erforderlich, Produktstabilität, lange Haltbarkeit und leicht verfügbare Zutaten. Diese Forschungsarbeit ist in 3 Hauptziele gegliedert. Das erste Ziel beinhaltet die Erhebung des Ernährungszustandes von Kindern unter fünf Jahren in einer Basisstudie. Der zweite Abschnitt befasst sich mit der Entwicklung von RUF-Keksprodukten, die im dritten Teil in einer Feldstudie in Banten Indonesien eingesetzt wurden, insbesondere im Hinblick auf antropometrische Endpunkte wie WHZ und Gewichstentwicklung nach Gabe der RUF-Kekse sowie deren Akzeptanz. Die RUF-Kekse wurde aus Nahrungsmitteln hergestellt, die in der indonesischen Provinz Banten verfügbar sind, jedoch nicht in ausreichender Menge verzehrt werden. Die Analyse des Nährstoffgehalts lokaler Lebensmittelressourcen zeigte, dass die Lebensmittel eine geeigente Zusammensetzung bezüglich der Makro- und Mikronährstoffe (Vitamine und Mineralien) aufweisen. Aufgrund ungünstiger Bedingungen nach der Ernte und bei der Verarbeitung zum Zwischenprodukt Mehl gehen während dieser Prozesse viele Vitamine und Mineralien verloren. In der Basiserhebung des Jahres 2017 mit 105 Befragten wurden 4,8% der Kindern aufgrund eines niedrigen WHZ-Scores als wasted klassifziert, 40% als zu klein für ihr Alter (stunted), 23, 8% als untergewichtig und 11,4% als übergewichtig. Wurde der mittlere Oberarmumfang (MUAC) betrachtet, wiesen 16,1% der Kinder ein Risiko für einen chronischen Energiemangel (CED) auf. Des Weiteren wurde festgestellt, dass die meisten Kinder eine unzureichende Protein-, Vitamin A-, Eisen- und Zinkaufnahme hatten. Zwölf Rezepte, die für die Produktentwicklung unter Verwendung lokaler Nahrungsressourcen entwickelt wurden, zeigen, dass die Makronährstoffzusammensetzung die Anforderungen einer Ernährung zur Behandlung von Kindern mit mittelschwerer akuter Unterernährung (MAM) erfüllt, dies gilt jedoch nicht für alle Mikronährstoffe (Vitamin und Mineralien). Fünf Rezepte (Rezepte 3, 4, 7, 11 und 12) wurden aufgrund ihrer Nährstoffzusammensetzung und der sensorischen Bewertung für die Akzeptanzstudie in Banten, Indonesien ausgewählt. Vor Durchführung der Akzeptanzstudie wurden die Rezeptur der RUF-Kekse mit einer Mikronährstoffvormischung auf der Grundlage der Empfehlung für die MAM-Behandlung angereichert. Die Stabilität der Mikronährstoffe wurde nach dem Backprozess bestimmt, wobei die Verluste der Vitamine A, B1, B2 und E bei etwa 15 bis 28% lagen. Diese waren etwas niedriger als in anderen Untersuchungen beschrieben, was durch den kurzen Backvorgang (15 Minuten) und die Mikronährstoffherkunft begründet sein könnte. Die verwendete Mikronährstoffvormischung (Premix) weist im Vergleich zu Vitaminen aus Lebensmitteln eine höhere Stabilität auf, während der Mineralstoffgehalt durch den Backvorgang nicht beeinflusst wurde. Bevor die Akzeptanzstudie startete, wurden fünf angereicherte Keksrezepturen getestet, um zwei davon für die Akzeptanz- und Interventionpilotstudie auszuwählen. Die meisten Kinder der Akzeptanzstudie berichteten, dass sie die RUF-Kekse akzeptierten und mochten. Der Konsum von RUF-Keksen über zwei Wochen führte zu einer Verbesserung des Ernährungsstatus: Reduktion von schwerem Wasting (WHZ) von 5,7% auf 4,3% und von starkem Untergewicht (WAZ) von 8,6% auf 4,3%. In Bezug auf Stunting (HAZ) gab es keinen Unterschied. Somit hat sich gezeigt, dass die entwickelten RUF-Kekse das Potenzial haben, Unterernährung bei unter 5-Jährigen im Zielgebiet zu reduzieren