Datasets for successful optimisation

For successful optimisation, Optimeal needs four types of data: a starting diet, nutritional boundaries that determine what is a healthy diet, the nutritional values of foods and the environmental impacts of foods. Optimeal 3.0 will have a European focus. This means that the default diet, which is included in the Optimeal licence, will be a European diet based on statistics from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The nutritional boundaries that define a healthy diet will also be based as far as possible on information from the EFSA. The nutritional values of foods, such as vitamins and nutrients, are derived mainly from data from seven European countries. The environmental impacts of the foods in the starting diet are determined for the European situation by a life cycle assessment (LCA). The datasets and the methods are explained in a methodology document.

In addition, more detailed and region-specific datasets have been developed that consist of diets, nutritional boundaries by gender, age category and activity level, as well as nutritional values and environmental impacts. The first regional dataset to be released will be for the Netherlands. These extensive datasets will be provided under additional licences.

Optimeal update: improvements

One of the most important improvements is that Optimeal will be fully web based. It will be easier to use and the program as a whole will be much more intuitive. Moreover, it will contain several new tools, such as the product creator. This tool can be used in the product development stage and will be useful for feed companies, among others. Read more about the new applications provided by Optimeal.