Industry and Innovation Studies Research Group Seminar

Speakers: Dr Henry Lau and Dr Dilupa Nakandala

 Title: “A Fuzzy-based Optimization Model for Selecting Food Products Based on Cost and Nutrition in Public Nutrition Programs”

Abstract: For public nutrition programs such as those in school canteens, aged care facilities and boarding houses that operate with limited financial resources, both the total healthiness of the food product and the affordability are equally critical determinants in choosing basic food products. We have developed a method that uses fuzzy based approach for cost and nutrient optimised food selection. In the proposed method, each type of nutrient and price are expressed as fuzzy sets. The total nutritional value based on the harmonic mean of nutrients in the food product is used to assess the degree of healthiness. The contextual knowledge and domain expertise in health and diet are integrated to generate a set of fuzzy rules that identifies best purchase decisions. We illustrate the empirical application of the proposed methodology by taking wholemeal bread brands in supermarkets as an example. The proposed method enables a systematic selection of food products based on cost and nutrition factors. It can accommodate more decision variables and assess substitute food items and menu plans. It has the flexibility to accommodate different socio-economic conditions and consumer requirements by changing input variables and fuzzy rules.

RSVP: Please email o.hauptman@uws.edu.au by the 24 October