Data Sources

The LCA Food Glossary integrates 168,626 terms from 10 authoritative sources covering food classification, Life Cycle Assessment, packaging, and agricultural domains.

Overview Table

Source	Terms	Domain	Type	Status
AGROvoc	41,447	Agriculture	Thesaurus	Live
Hestia	36,044	Food LCA	API	Live
Ecoinvent	33,784	LCA Inventory	Database	Static
FoodEx2	31,601	Food Classification	Standard	Static
LanguaL	12,836	Food Characteristics	Vocabulary	Static
Sentier	7,731	LCA Framework	RDF/Linked Data	Static
CPC	4,583	Commodity Codes	Classification	Static
UNECE Rec 21	406	Packaging Codes	Standard	Static
GS1 Packaging	154	Packaging Vocabulary	Standard	Static
Eaternity	40	EOS Schema	Schema	Static
Total	168,626	Multiple	Mixed	-

Source Details

AGROvoc

Terms: 41,447 Provider: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Domain: Agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food, environment Type: Multilingual thesaurus Coverage: Broadest agricultural vocabulary

AGROvoc is a comprehensive agricultural thesaurus covering all areas of interest to FAO, including food, nutrition, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and the environment. It provides standardized terminology in multiple languages.

Key Features:

• Multilingual support (20+ languages)
• Hierarchical relationships between concepts
• Broad coverage of agricultural domains
• Used by agricultural libraries and information systems worldwide

Use Cases:

• Agricultural research and documentation
• Food system terminology standardization
• Cross-language information retrieval
• Agricultural policy and planning

Data Format: RDF/SKOS thesaurus Update Frequency: Regular updates by FAO License: Open data (CC-BY-IGO 3.0)

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Hestia

Terms: 36,044 Provider: Hestia Project (api.hestia.earth) Domain: Food Life Cycle Assessment Type: Live API integration Coverage: Specialized food LCA terms across 6 main categories

Hestia is the largest food LCA database with real-time API integration, providing comprehensive terminology for environmental impact assessment of food systems.

Main Categories:

1. Practices - Agricultural and production practices
2. Inputs & Products - Ingredients, products, and materials
3. Measurements - Quantitative measurements and metrics
4. Methods & Models - LCA methodologies and calculation models
5. Emissions & Resource Use - Environmental impacts and resource consumption
6. Infrastructure & Equipment - Production facilities and machinery

Key Features:

• Live API integration with ~30,000 terms
• Hierarchical category structure
• Detailed descriptions and units
• Regular updates from global food LCA studies

Use Cases:

• Environmental impact calculations
• Food sustainability assessments
• Supply chain carbon footprinting
• Agricultural practice modeling

Data Format: JSON-LD via REST API Update Frequency: Continuous (live API) API Endpoint: https://api.hestia.earth License: Open for research use

Learn more about Hestia →

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Ecoinvent

Terms: 33,784 Provider: ecoinvent Association Domain: Life Cycle Inventory Type: LCA database Coverage: Industrial processes, materials, energy, transportation, waste

Ecoinvent is the world's leading Life Cycle Inventory database, providing consistent and transparent data for environmental assessments.

Coverage Areas:

• Energy supply
• Materials production
• Agriculture and food
• Chemicals and plastics
• Transportation and logistics
• Waste treatment
• Construction and infrastructure

Key Features:

• Comprehensive LCI datasets
• Impact category classification
• Process-level granularity
• Global geographical coverage
• Uncertainty quantification

Use Cases:

• Product life cycle assessments
• Environmental footprinting
• Supply chain impact analysis
• Comparative product assessments

Data Format: Activity names and process identifiers Update Frequency: Annual major releases License: Commercial license required for full database

Learn more about Ecoinvent →

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FoodEx2

Terms: 31,601 Provider: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Domain: Food classification Type: Hierarchical classification standard Coverage: Complete food catalog with faceted classification

FoodEx2 is EFSA's standardized food classification and description system, designed for data exchange in food safety and nutrition.

Structure:

• Master Hierarchy - Core food groups and categories
• Report Hierarchy - Aggregated categories for reporting
• Facets - Additional descriptors (processing, production method, packaging)

Key Features:

• Comprehensive European food catalog
• Hierarchical code system
• Faceted classification (multi-dimensional)
• Used by EU member states for food safety reporting

Main Food Groups:

• Grains and grain-based products
• Vegetables and vegetable products
• Fruits and fruit products
• Meat and meat products
• Fish and seafood
• Dairy products
• Beverages
• Composite foods

Use Cases:

• Food safety data exchange
• Nutritional databases
• Food consumption surveys
• Dietary exposure assessments

Data Format: Excel with hierarchical codes Update Frequency: Periodic revisions by EFSA License: Public domain

Learn more about FoodEx2 →

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LanguaL

Terms: 12,836 Provider: LanguaL Consortium Domain: Food characteristics Type: Thesaurus Coverage: Systematic food description using 14 facets

LanguaL (Langua aLimentaria or language of food) is a systematic method for describing food using standardized terminology across multiple facets.

Facet Categories (14 facets):

1. Product Type
2. Food Source
3. Part of Plant or Animal
4. Physical State
5. Extent of Heat Treatment
6. Cooking Method
7. Treatment Applied
8. Preservation Method
9. Packing Medium
10. Container or Wrapping
11. Food Contact Surface
12. Consumer Group/Dietary Use
13. Geographic Places and Regions
14. Additional Product Information

Key Features:

• Multi-faceted food description
• International food terminology
• Supports detailed food characterization
• Used in food composition databases

Use Cases:

• Food composition databases
• Nutritional analysis
• Food labeling and regulation
• Recipe and menu analysis

Data Format: Structured vocabulary Update Frequency: Periodic updates License: Open use

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Sentier

Terms: 7,731 Provider: Sentier.dev (Open Source) Domain: Life Cycle Assessment Type: RDF/Linked Data framework Coverage: Open source LCA terminology and relationships

Sentier is an open source framework for LCA data management using linked data and semantic web technologies.

Key Features:

• RDF/Turtle format native support
• Semantic web integration
• Open source and transparent
• Modern LCA data architecture

Use Cases:

• Research and academic LCA studies
• Open source LCA tools
• Linked data applications
• LCA methodology development

Data Format: RDF/Turtle (TTL) Update Frequency: Community-driven updates License: Open source

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CPC

Terms: 4,583 Provider: United Nations Statistics Division Domain: Commodity classification Type: Classification standard Coverage: Goods and services across all economic sectors

CPC (Central Product Classification) is the UN's comprehensive classification of goods and services used for economic statistics.

Coverage Areas:

• Agricultural products
• Food products
• Industrial goods
• Energy products
• Services

Key Features:

• Internationally standardized codes
• Hierarchical structure
• Used in trade statistics
• Aligned with other UN classifications

Use Cases:

• International trade analysis
• Economic statistics
• Product categorization
• Supply chain classification

Data Format: Hierarchical codes and descriptions Update Frequency: Periodic revisions by UNSD License: Public domain

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UNECE Rec 21

Terms: 406 Provider: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Domain: Packaging codes Type: Recommendation standard Coverage: Packaging materials and container types

UNECE Recommendation 21 provides standardized codes for package types and packaging materials, recommended by GS1 for global supply chains.

Coverage:

• Packaging materials (paper, plastic, metal, glass, wood)
• Container types (boxes, bottles, cans, pallets)
• Package configurations

Key Features:

• Internationally recognized codes
• Endorsed by GS1
• Used in logistics and supply chain
• Material-based hierarchies

Use Cases:

• Supply chain documentation
• Packaging sustainability analysis
• Logistics and shipping
• Waste management and recycling

Data Format: Code lists with descriptions Update Frequency: Stable standard with occasional updates License: Public domain

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GS1 Packaging

Terms: 154 Provider: GS1 Organization Domain: Packaging vocabulary Type: Global standard Coverage: Packaging materials, features, functions, shapes, recycling

GS1 Packaging provides a global vocabulary for describing packaging characteristics in supply chains.

Categories:

1. Materials - Packaging material types
2. Features - Functional features (resealable, tamper-evident)
3. Functions - Packaging purposes (containment, protection)
4. Shapes - Physical shapes and forms
5. Recycling - Recyclability and sustainability attributes

Key Features:

• Global supply chain standard
• Integration with GS1 barcodes
• Sustainability focus
• E-commerce compatible

Use Cases:

• Product packaging descriptions
• E-commerce listings
• Sustainability reporting
• Circular economy initiatives

Data Format: Structured vocabulary Update Frequency: Regular updates by GS1 License: GS1 terms of use

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Eaternity

Terms: 40 (24 schema classes + 16 properties) Provider: Eaternity Domain: Environmental Operating System schema Type: Data schema Coverage: EOS API data model for food sustainability

Eaternity schema terms represent the data model of the Environmental Operating System (EOS), Eaternity's platform for food sustainability assessment.

Schema Classes (24 terms):

• FlowNode - Material flows in the system
• ActivityNode - Production and processing activities
• FoodProductFlowNode - Specific food product flows
• ImpactAssessment - Environmental impact calculations
• And 20 more specialized classes

Property Terms (16 terms):

• Product Name - Product identification
• Quantity - Amount measurements
• Origin Country - Geographic location
• Processing Method - Production processes
• Nutritional Values - Nutrient data
• And 11 more properties

Key Features:

• Direct mapping to EOS API
• Semantic matching for CSV import
• Property-level granularity
• Python field name mappings

Use Cases:

• EOS API integration
• User data import mapping
• Food sustainability calculations
• Schema validation

Data Format: LinkML YAML with JSON-LD context Update Frequency: Aligned with EOS releases License: Proprietary

Learn more about Eaternity Schema →

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Integration Strategy

Hierarchical Organization

Each source maintains its native hierarchical structure:

• FoodEx2: masterHierarchyCode, reportHierarchyCode, facet groups
• Hestia: 6 main categories with subcategories
• AGROvoc: SKOS concept schemes and broader/narrower relationships
• Ecoinvent: Impact category classifications
• LanguaL: 14 facet groups
• CPC: Hierarchical section/division/group/class structure
• GS1/UNECE: Material and type-based hierarchies
• Sentier: RDF semantic relationships
• Eaternity: Schema class inheritance

Cross-Source Mapping

The glossary includes semantic relationships between sources:

• Exact Mappings - Terms with identical meaning across sources
• Broader/Narrower - Hierarchical relationships between sources
• Related - Conceptually related terms
• AI-Generated - Semantic similarity from embeddings

Update Strategy

Source Type	Update Method	Frequency
Live API (Hestia)	Automated fetch	Daily/weekly
Static Files	Manual update	Quarterly
RDF/Linked Data	Git submodule	On release
Schema (Eaternity)	Synchronized	With EOS releases

Data Quality

Validation

All sources are validated against the LinkML schema:

• Required fields - ID, name, source, category
• Data types - String, numeric, array consistency
• Relationships - Valid parent term references
• Uniqueness - No duplicate term IDs

Enrichment

Terms are enriched during processing:

• Descriptions - Standardized format and length
• Categories - Automatic extraction from hierarchies
• Metadata - Source URLs, update timestamps
• Search optimization - Searchable flags and priority

Coverage Analysis

Domain	Primary Sources	Term Count	Coverage
Food Products	FoodEx2, Hestia, AGROvoc	109,092	Excellent
LCA Processes	Ecoinvent, Hestia, Sentier	77,559	Excellent
Agriculture	AGROvoc, LanguaL	54,283	Excellent
Packaging	GS1, UNECE, CPC	5,143	Good
Sustainability	Hestia, Eaternity	36,084	Excellent

License Summary

License Type	Sources	Commercial Use
Open Data	AGROvoc, FoodEx2, UNECE, CPC	Yes
Research Use	Hestia, Sentier	Academic only
Commercial	Ecoinvent	License required
Standard Terms	GS1, LanguaL	With attribution
Proprietary	Eaternity	Restricted

Note: Always verify individual source licenses before commercial use.

Future Expansions

Potential additional sources under consideration:

• USDA FoodData Central - US food composition data (~15,000 terms)
• UK Food Standards - British food classification (~10,000 terms)
• ISO 14040/14044 - LCA methodology terms (~500 terms)
• GHG Protocol - Greenhouse gas accounting (~1,000 terms)
• WFLDB - World Food LCA Database (~5,000 terms)

Related Documentation

• Semantic Mapping - How sources are mapped together
• Data Formats - Export formats and integration
• FoodEx2 Reference - Detailed FoodEx2 documentation
• Hestia Reference - Detailed Hestia documentation
• Ecoinvent Reference - Detailed Ecoinvent documentation