Introduction

Today the management of food allergies consists in educating the patient to avoid ingesting the responsible allergen and to initiate therapy in case of an unintended ingestion. Patients are required to identify individual allergens in the daily food (e.g. instant meals). Unfortunately, while purchasing their food, people are left alone with ingredient descriptions that are difficult to read and understand. This makes it also very hard to document and control the ingested foods. WikiFood wants to offer the possibility to get information about interesting food products and to prepare the purchase.

WikiFood volunteer network

WikiFood builds up a volunteer network of food product users that fill up the database by typing in the ingredients lists of products that may be interesting for the community of allergy patients and consumers. Digital photos of EAN codes, packages, and ingredient lists help to validate the data entries. Data entry into the database is not limited to individuals. Additionally, import functionalities allow incorporating data from existing databases or text files. The producers can demonstrate their care and interest in food security by delivering information about their products to the WikiFood community.

WikiFood should act as a central contact and information point for:

• Food producers, willing to provide information about their products to the public
• Consumers
• Health professionals, consumer protection organisations