Once you've uploaded your Food & Drinks data, our platform automatically matches each item to a food in our emissions database.
You can view these matches in your Food & Drinks table:
Whilst we constantly test and improve our matching algorithm, it is best practice to check and verify your matches. Things can be mismatched, for example, if the item name is long or unclear. You know your own data best, so it’s important that you verify matches for accuracy, as even small errors can impact your results.
Steps to Check Matched Foods:
1. Focus on High-Impact Items First:
Look at items with higher quantities or emissions factors first - these will have the greatest influence on your footprint, so spotting any inaccuracies here is key.
You can sort your data by highest emissions, by clicking on the "Emissions" column heading.
2. Review the “Matched Food” Column:
Compare the Matched Food with the Name you uploaded.
Does the match reflect the actual item?
Example: If “Rice” matches to “Brown Rice” but you meant “White Rice,” you’ll need to correct it.
Tip: Watch out for any misleading supplier names within the item name. E.g. "Lamb Weston chips", where Lamb Weston is the supplier of potato chips, could be read as a food item containing lamb.
3. Update Any Incorrect Matches:
You can click into each incorrect match to update it:
Search for the correct food name in our database.
Confirm your selection.
4. Move Through Your List:
Work through your full dataset, either in descending order, or by filtering into more manageable chunks (e.g., by supplier or time period).