Product data

In order for Informed Individual to work, we need data. Any data that can be used to describe a product or a service. We have labeled this type of data Product Data. Examples include the Tradesolution Electronic Product Database  (EPD) and Helsedirektoratets Matvaretabellen. Other types of product data would be

  • Detailed product information, such ingredients specified by percentages and nutritional content with vitamins
  • Generic product value chain information, such as manufacturing and resellers
  • Specific product value chain information, such as batch numbers and transportation method
  • Stores and their locations, inventory and pricing
  • Company information such as ownership, turnover and market share

We intend to link this data to interpretations, such as those provided by the UK NGO  Corporate Critic . Their database contains reports and reviews of 50.000 international companies.

Most grocery suppliers in Norway have to register their products in the EPD database. The EPD database - administered by Tradesolution - is the central norwegian product database for exchange and quality assurance of master data that are sold and distributed between suppliers and the food chains in Norway within the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), SH (Service Trade) and HORECA (Hotel, Restaurant and Catering). More than 1000 suppliers register logisticsm space/volume, environmental and identity-information about products that are distributed/sold through wholesale and stores/retail outlets of NorgesGruppen, COOP, ICA, REMA 1000 and ServiceGrossistene.

Only those who have registered products and the five food chains that pay subscription has access to this information. There are laws that require some information to be made available on the packaging, but we need this information to be made available as structured data, and we need more detail than the current law requires.

Datasets which are publicly available we refer to as Open Product Data. The website www.opdata.org (Open Product Data) will be an index of open datasets all over the world which can describe products and services. This site is currently under development.