Hierarchical Nutrient Loss Tracking in Food Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods fail to accurately account for nutrient losses during manufacturing and storage processes in food product production, as these losses are typically calculated after the end product's nutrient values are determined, neglecting intermediate stages and semi-finished product levels.
Innovation Solution
A method that explodes a recipe into hierarchical process steps, obtains nutrient values and loss profiles for input materials, including process and storage loss profiles, and performs a hierarchical nutrient loss calculation to quantify nutrients remaining in the end food product, using a computer system to track and quantify these losses throughout the production process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If nutrient loss calculations are performed only after end product nutrient values are determined, then calculation complexity is reduced, but measurement precision of nutrient loss tracking deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the nutrient loss tracking into hierarchical levels: process loss at individual process steps, storage loss at intermediate storage points, and process loss again at subsequent steps. This segmentation allows precise tracking at each stage while the computer system automatically aggregates these segmented calculations, resolving the contradiction between detailed tracking and calculation complexity.
2Measurement precision
If hierarchical process steps and storage stages are tracked individually, then nutrient loss measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The computer system is designed as a universal platform that handles multiple functions: storing loss profiles, calculating process losses, calculating storage losses, and aggregating results across hierarchical levels. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate tracking systems, achieving high measurement precision without proportionally increasing system complexity.
3Measurement precision
If loss profiles are obtained for all input materials and intermediate products, then nutrient loss measurement precision is improved, but loss of time in data collection increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-storing loss profiles for all materials and processes in a database before actual production occurs. During production, the computer system simply retrieves these pre-stored profiles and applies them to the specific quantities used, rather than measuring or calculating loss profiles in real-time. This dramatically reduces data collection time during actual manufacturing while maintaining high measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
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.