Pilot project on the implementation of FoodEx2 as part of the Standard Sample Description for the electronic transmission of harmonised chemical occurrence data to EFSA (NP/EFSA/DCM/2012/03/01)

EFSA's Working Group on Food Classification launched in late 2011 the first version of a new and more comprehensive classification and description system for food and feed suitable for exposure assessment in different areas of food safety which was designated FoodEx2. Before being fully implemented, FoodEx2 needs to be tested in different applications, and commented on by users at national level and consequently be improved. Thus, in parallel to the development and implementation of the ‟CFP/EFSA/DATEX2011/01 Implementation of Electronic Transmission of Chemical Occurrence Data in Portugal‟ project, INSA submitted an offer to the tender „Pilot projects on the implementation of FoodEx2 as part of the Standard Sample Description for the electronic transmission of harmonised chemical occurrence data to EFSA‟. Foodex2 system consists of a large number of individual food items, representing the minimum level of detail necessary to code/describe a food and feed sample to estimate dietary exposure, aggregated in groups and broader categories of food in a hierarchical structure like „parent-child‟ relationship. This characterization is improved with the use of facets. The term facet refers to a set of descriptors which allow detailing the characteristics of a food product according to various aspects such as physical state or preservation technique, among others. These activities of this project performed by INSA in the period October 2012-April 2013 are summarised in the present report.