Entries in the Periodic Table of Food (PTF)

Entries in the finalized PTF interface will be hierarchically organized as individual ingredients according to genetic similarity.

The PTFI database will be crafted around plant, animal, or microorganism species as the major umbrella classifications that may describe many different varieties and forms of foods.

For example, (if derived from the common domesticated cow) beef kidneys, beef muscle, cow milk, yogurt, and blue cheese would all appear under Bos taurus. However, they may each be chosen as separate choices for the selection of the first 1,000 foods. Additional forms may be analyzed based on interest and funding.  A few examples:

  • While only one or two species/varieties of wheat may be chosen for the analysis, the 6-10 total accessions will each represent particular phenotypes and preparation methods. An institution that is particularly interested in the 30,000 wheat varieties across 14 species may invest further in that analysis.
  • If an institution is interested in the effects of soil types on beets they may conduct a study that varies soil type while keeping the beet variety constant.
  • Tomato processing methods may be investigated by selecting one variety of tomato and testing a variety of resultant end-stage tomato products.

The following graph represents an initial list of types of metadata that may be useful to gather for each entry. This list is intended as a starting point for discussion and to build upon.