Netherlands

Animal and plant based proteins

As part of sustainability efforts, more and more European retailers are asking their suppliers to exchange information on the share of animal and plant proteins in food products. To meet this demand, GS1 Data Source's data model will be updated from 16 November.

Required fields in GS1 Data Source

Use the fields and codes below to exchange information on the proportion of animal and plant proteins in food products:

  • Ingredient Code (ingredientcode)

This code indicates whether a protein is animal or plant based. Then select a value from the ‘NL_IngredientCodeCodeList’ code list.

  • ‘Type of ingredient' (ingredientCode/@codelistName)

Choose the value ‘euSustainabilityReporting’ to indicate that the information in the ‘Ingredients Code’ field relates to animal and plant based proteins.

  • Ingredient Purpose (ingredientpurpose)

Code indicating whether the protein is added (ADDED) or naturally present (NATURAL).

  • Ingredient Content Percentage (ingredientContentPercentage)

Use this field to indicate the percentage per protein type. The percentage represents the ratio of the amount of protein to the net weight of the item.

View the data model for an overall view.

Product examples

1. Basic information GS1 Chili Con Carne 200 grams

In the example below, we show how to exchange basic information on a product containing 60 grams of animal proteins and 40 grams of plant based proteins.

  • [1]tradeItemDescription = GS1 Chilli Con Carne 200 g
  • [1] ingredientStatement = Ingredienten: Rundvlees, rijst, bonen, mais, saus
  • [1] netWeight = 200 GRM
  • [2] ingredientCode = ANIMAL_BASED_PROTEIN
  • [2] ingredientCode/@codeListName = euSustainabilityReporting
  • [2] ingredientContentPercentage = 30
  • [3] ingredientCode = PLANT_BASED_PROTEIN
  • [3] ingredientCode/@codeListName = euSustainabilityReporting
  • [3] ingredientContentPercentage = 20

Additional information GS1 Chili Con Carne 200 grams

In the example below, in addition to the basic information, is indicated whether proteins are naturally present or added. Some data receivers request these additional details. The product below contains 60 grams of animal protein, which is naturally present in the product, and 40 grams of plant based protein, of which 30 grams are naturally present and 10 grams have been added.

  • [1] tradeItemDescription = GS1 Chilli Con Carne 200 g
  • [1] ingredientStatement = Ingredienten: Rundvlees, rijst, bonen, mais, saus
  • [1] netWeight = 200 GRM
  • [2] ingredientCode = ANIMAL_BASED_PROTEIN
  • [2] ingredientPurpose = NATURAL
  • [2] ingredientCode/@codeListName = euSustainabilityReporting
  • [2] ingredientContentPercentage = 30
  • [3] ingredientCode = PLANT_BASED_PROTEIN
  • [3] ingredientPurpose = NATURAL
  • [3] ingredientCode/@codeListName = euSustainabilityReporting
  • [3] ingredientContentPercentage = 15
  • [4] ingredientCode = PLANT_BASED_PROTEIN
  • [4] ingredientPurpose = ADDED
  • [5] ingredientCode/@codeListName = euSustainabilityReporting
  • [5] ingredientContentPercentage = 5

Please note
The ‘Ingredient Code’ (ingredientCode) field may appear multiple times with the same code, as in Example 2. In this case, data recipients add up the percentages of the ‘Ingredient Content Percentage’ (ingredientContentPercentage) field to determine the total quantity. This also applies to recipients who do not use the ‘Ingredient Content Percentage’ field, because they receive information in a different way.