710663Recipe Management System (RMS)ClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKThe food industry in the UK – particularly food & drink manufacturing and food service – is dominated by some 320,000 Food Business Operators (FBOs). However, in this competitive sector they face two main challenges – namely, margin control and the provision of accurate food information to their customers. SMEs generally lack the tools to link product development with either proper cost or food information control; often each function in a business has a separate database or spreadsheets for purchasing, manufacturing, finance and labelling. The large number of small independent food service businesses in particular struggle to find the time to maintain accurate cost and product information. Ingredient changes have to be updated in all data systems and in real life this either does not happen or they are piecemeal. While a loss of cost-control is important, a failure in terms of allergen advice could be critical both to the consumer and, ultimately, the business. Our solution is a software package known as Recipe Management System (RMS) designed specifically for SME FBOs that will run web-based on mobile platforms (smartphone and tablet) as well as PCs. In addition to unifying recipe management across a company, RMS will facilitate an open flow of real-time information between supplier and customer using shared APIs for the exchange of information and data. A key part of the project, is the development of a novel Specification Scanning System which uses a combination of patternmatching algorithms and techniques to extract information from labels or specifications. FBOs will have accurate data at their fingertips in terms of recipe costs on a day-to-day basis ensuring they do not under or overprice a product. Furthermore, they will have the security of knowing that they conform to labelling and allergen legislation, minimising the risk of prosecution and damage to their reputation.