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spice

vr.tr.spice · thing-q42527

Let an agent handle spices by plant source, part used, flavour, allergens, adulteration and safe use.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.MAT

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Identity Which spice.

Source

Plant and part.

Source

Plant source.

  1. Which plant and part does it come from? definition
  2. What is its botanical name? provenance

Origin

Where grown.

Origin

Origin.

  1. Where was it grown? provenance
  2. Is origin labelled? boundary
Use Cooking.

Flavour

Taste profile.

Flavour

Flavour profile.

  1. What flavour does it give? definition
  2. How much should be used? measurement

Storage

Freshness.

Storage

Storage.

  1. How should it be stored to keep flavour? action
  2. How long does it keep? measurement
Safety Allergens and contaminants.

Allergens

Declared allergens.

Allergens

Allergens.

  1. Is it or does it contain a declared allergen? boundary
  2. Is there cross-contact risk? boundary

Contaminants

Mycotoxins and adulterants.

Contaminants

Contamination.

  1. Has it been tested for mycotoxins and adulterants? provenance
  2. Are there recalls? boundary
Trade Quality and fairness.

Quality

Standards.

Quality

Quality grade.

  1. Which quality standard applies? provenance
  2. How is purity verified? action

Ethics

Fair trade.

Ethics

Trade ethics.

  1. Are producers paid fairly? boundary
  2. Which certification applies? provenance

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.MAT
Other names and narrower kinds
Lemon Gras, fennel fruit, cilantro, fish spices, epazote leaf, celery powder, Thai basil, lemon zest, wasabi paste, recado rojo, garlic powder, onion powder

What it is Filled

A seed, fruit, root, bark or other plant substance used mainly to flavour, colour or preserve food, such as pepper, cinnamon, fennel, cumin or celery powder.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent handle spices by plant source, part used, flavour, allergens, adulteration and safe use.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Plant substance used for flavour
  • Usually dried non-leaf parts
  • Adulteration is a known problem
  • Some are major allergens (celery, mustard, sesame)

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Sell adulterated or mislabelled spices, such as those bulked with dyes or fillers.
  • Serve a spice to someone who has declared an allergy to it.
  • Give doses of spices as remedies without medical advice.
  • Misrepresent the origin of a spice to charge more.

Only with a human decision

  • Recalling a contaminated spice from sale.

May

  • Store and use spices following food hygiene rules.
  • Report the origin and ingredients of a spice from its label.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Spice adulteration has caused poisoning and fraud on consumers.
  • Many spices come from smallholders who depend on fair prices.

Who is affected

  • People who eat it
  • Growers and traders

Owners Filled

Steward

The producer or seller; food safety authorities set the rules for sale.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q2596997 - registry parent class

related

  • condiment - food ingredient
  • useful plant - source
  • food - cooking
  • trade - spice trade

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.spice
  • Wikidata: Q42527 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42527)
  • botanical name: binomial source plant
  • ISO spice standard: ISO 676 nomenclature names

Direct properties required Filled

  • typical use rate: 0.1-2 percent of dish weight - varies widely

Recognition required Filled

  • Aroma and colour
  • Labels with botanical name and origin
  • Herbs (leaves) are sometimes distinguished from spices
  • Dried seeds, powders, barks, roots and pods with strong aromas and colours.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • cook with it
  • store it to keep flavour
  • label allergens such as celery and mustard
  • check for adulteration

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Adulteration with dyes or fillers
  • Undeclared allergens
  • Mycotoxin contamination
  • Overuse of some spices such as nutmeg

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • ISO 676 spices and condiments nomenclature
  • EU allergen labelling (celery, mustard, sesame)
  • Rules on contaminants such as aflatoxins

Context of use required Filled

  • Flavouring, colouring and preserving food, and in traditional medicine and trade.
  • seeds such as cumin and fennel
  • barks such as cinnamon
  • roots and rhizomes such as ginger
  • fruits and pods such as pepper and chilli
  • blends such as fish spices

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q42527: spice - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Spice - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should individual spices be separate entries?
  • How should adulteration alerts be linked?
  • How should herbs and spices be distinguished?

Machine files

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q42527/spec.json