Category Tree Guidance

Version 4 – September 2016

The Guidance Document Version 3 as issued in May 2009 has been revised by Alan Mole in consultation with others. A final revision has been agreed and any consequent changes to the category tree itself are implemented in UKFSS. Laboratories will need to update their own reference files in order to maintain conformance.

Preface

The Category Tree is a fundamental feature of UKFSS and has been present in the data structure since its inception. It is a means to classify food and animal feed products so that information on specific types can be obtained from the database. This Guidance Document provides assistance on the categorisation of food products only; separate guidance on the categorisation of animal feeds will be provided if required.

At the outset it must be recognised that the Category Tree categorises FOOD PRODUCTS AND NOT SAMPLES. The food product must be classified correctly irrespective of the reason for sampling, the place of sampling and the type of analysis (chemical or microbiological) required. All of these pieces of information are available elsewhere in the UKFSS Database.

When the Category Tree was first designed it was decided that it should be based on the food categories used by the Food Standards Agency for their Section 14 OCD returns. This was recognised as a sensible approach as it used as a means of categorising foods that was already accepted at both UK and European level. However the level of detail present in this system was considered insufficient for UKFSS purposes as it would not allow the database to be searched with sufficient sophistication.

The structure adopted for the Category Tree comprises four levels of classification. The top two levels are identical to those used for OCD Section 14 returns. The bottom (fourth) level is based on the detailed sample classification that was in place in many laboratories before the inception of the category tree and is used by many to automatically allocate analysis suites. In developing the category tree it was found to be necessary to introduce an intermediary third level to assist in the movement from the two high levels and the bottom operational level. It has become custom to refer to the four levels of the Category Tree as “Clan”, “Family”, “Group” and “Type” (levels 1 to 4) and this nomenclature is used in this Guidance Document.

The purpose of this Guidance Document is to provide assistance to Environmental Health Officers, Trading Standards Officers and laboratory staff on how to categorise food products consistently. It details which food products should be included in each Type category and, equally importantly in many cases, which food products should not be placed in a particular Type category. Provided the correct Type is selected then the correct Clan, Family and Group follow automatically.

For most food products there will be an obvious and unique location within the Category Tree. However, for some products there may be two or more locations which could be argued as being “correct”. For some of these it may be necessary to have a detailed knowledge of food legislation in order to determine which is the most appropriate category and for others there may simply be no location that is more “correct” than another. In the latter case this Guidance Document will “define” how a food product should be categorised so as to achieve consistency within the database.

In many positions in the Category Tree there is an “other” Type category. These are included so as to allow food products which belong to that part of the Clan, Family Group structure but for which there is no specific “Type” to be categorised. The Category Tree must strike a balance between being overly complex with a very large number of product Types and the provision of “other” categories for food products that are not likely to be sampled regularly. If it is found that a particular type of food product is frequently being placed in an “other” Type category then at a subsequent review of the Category Tree an additional Type can be added and samples retrospectively transferred to it.

However, the “other” Type categories must not be misused. They should only be used when there is genuinely no other more appropriate Type category available. They must not be used negligently by sampling officers or laboratory registration staff who cannot be bothered looking for a more appropriate category in the hope that someone later in the processing of the sample will correct their error.

The remainder of this Guidance Document considers each Clan category in turn, specifies the Family, Group and Type categories belonging to it and provides information on which food products should be included in it and which should not.

Contents:

• 1. Additives
  • 1.1. Family 1.01 – Additives
• 2. Bakery and Cereal Products
  • 2.1. Family 02.01 – Cereals and Cereal Type Products
• 3. Beverages
  • 3.1. Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations
  • 3.2. Coffee and Tea
    • 3.2.1. Coffee
    • 3.2.2. Tea
  • 3.3. Other Beverages
• 4. Cakes and Confectionery
  • 4.1. Family 4.01 – Cakes and Confectionery
• 5. Dairy Products
  • 5.1. Family 5.01 – Liquid Milk
  • 5.2. Family 5.02 – Cheese
  • 5.3. Family 5.03 – Butter
  • 5.4. Family 5.04 – Milk Products
• 6. Drinks
  • 6.1. Family 6.01 – Wine
  • 6.2. Family 6.02 – Alcoholic Drinks
  • 6.3. Family 6.03 – Packed Water
  • 6.4. Family 6.04 – Fruit Juices
  • 6.5. Family 6.05 – Soft Drinks
• 7. Egg and Egg Products
  • 7.1. Family 7.01 – Egg and Egg Products
• 8. Fish and Shellfish
  • 8.1. Family 8.01 – Fish and Shellfish – Fresh and Frozen
  • 8.2. Family 8.02 – Fish and Shellfish – Products and Processed
• 9. Foods for Particular Nutritional Uses
  • 9.1. Family 9.01 – Baby and Infant Foods
  • 9.2. Family 9.02 – Other Foods for Particular Nutritional Uses
• 10. Fruit and Vegetables
  • 10.1. Family 10.01 – Fruit – Fresh and Frozen
  • 10.2. Family 10.02 – Fruit Products and Processed
  • 10.3. Family 10.03 – Vegetables – Fresh and Frozen (including Salads)
  • 10.4. Family 10.04 – Vegetables – Products and Processed
  • 10.5. Family 10.05 – Protein Foods
• 11. Herbs and Spices
  • 11.1. Family 11.01 – Herbs and Spices
• 12. Ice Cream and Desserts
  • 12.1. Family 12.01 – Ice Cream
  • 12.2. Family 12.02 – Desserts
• 13. Materials and Articles in Contact with Food
  • 13.1. Family 13.01 – Materials and Articles in Contact with Food
• 14. Meat and Meat Products, Game and Poultry
  • 14.1. Family 14.01 – Meat – Fresh and Frozen
  • 14.2. Family 14.02 – Meat - Products and Processed (including Sausages)
  • 14.3. Family 14.03 – Game
  • 14.4. Family 14.04 – Poultry - Fresh and Frozen
  • 14.5. Family 14.05 – Poultry - Products and Processed
• 15. Nut and Nut Products, Snacks
  • 15.1. Family 15.01 – Nuts and Nut Products, Snacks
• 16. Prepared Dishes
  • 16.1. Family 16.01 – Restaurant and Take-Away Meals
  • 16.2. Family 16.02 – Ready-Made Meals
• 17. Soups, Broths and Sauces
  • 17.1. Family 17.01 – Soups
  • 17.2. Family 17.02 – Sauces and Condiments
• 18. Others
  • 18.1. Food Supplements
  • 18.2. Oils and Fats
  • 18.3. Honey and Honey Products
  • 18.4. Preserves
  • 18.5. Sugar and Sugar Products
  • 18.6. Water used as an ingredient in Food
  • 18.7. Miscellaneous

Documentation links:

• Documentation Home
• UKFSS Desktop
• UKFSS Portal