Ingredient Mapping

Mapping is the process of linking the products on your invoices to standardized ingredients in the ChinaYung database. This is how your restaurant gets accurate allergen declarations, nutrition values, and food cost tracking — all starting from the items you actually purchase.

What is Mapping?

When you upload an invoice, ChinaYung extracts product names like „LKK Oyster Sauce 2.27kg“ or „Barilla Spaghetti No.5 500g.“ These are supplier-specific descriptions that vary between vendors.

Mapping connects each of these products to a standardized ingredient with verified allergen and nutrition data. Once mapped, the same product is recognized automatically on every future invoice — you only map it once.

This is the foundation for:

• Allergen compliance — accurate EU-14 allergen declarations for every dish.
• Nutrition data — per-ingredient and per-dish nutrition values.
• Food cost analysis — linking purchase prices to the ingredients in your recipes (GROWTH and PRO plans).

Mapping Queue

Navigate to Ingredients > Mapping to see your mapping queue. This is where all unmapped products are listed, waiting to be assigned.

The queue shows:

• Product name — As extracted from the invoice.
• Supplier — Which supplier this product came from.
• Progress bar — Your overall mapping completion rate.

Products are sorted with the most recent uploads first. Work through them one at a time, or use the search bar to find a specific product.

Tip: Aim for 100% mapping completion. Unmapped products mean incomplete allergen declarations — and that is a compliance risk.

Searching and Assigning

When you click on an unmapped product, the mapping panel opens. Here you search for the correct standardized ingredient to assign.

How to Search

Start typing the ingredient name in the search field. ChinaYung searches across:

• Your existing ingredient catalog — products you have mapped before.
• The BLS database — Germany’s federal nutrition database with over 27,000 standardized food items.
• Supplier product databases — known products from major wholesalers.

The autocomplete dropdown shows matching results as you type. Each suggestion displays the ingredient name, category, and a match confidence indicator.

Assigning the Match

Click on the correct result to assign it. If the product has been mapped before (e.g., same product from a different invoice), ChinaYung will suggest the previous match automatically.

Tip: If you cannot find a match, try searching with fewer words or a more generic term. For example, search „soy sauce“ instead of „LKK Premium Dark Soy Sauce 500ml.“

Setting Allergens

After assigning a standardized ingredient, you are prompted to confirm the EU-14 allergen flags. These are the 14 allergens that must be declared under EU food information regulations:

1. Gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt)
2. Crustaceans
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soybeans
7. Milk (including lactose)
8. Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts)
9. Celery
10. Mustard
11. Sesame seeds
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
13. Lupin
14. Molluscs

Each allergen has a checkbox. Check only those allergens that are present in the product according to its label.

Tip: Always check the actual product label for allergen information. Do not rely on supplier websites, online marketplaces, or your own assumptions. The label is the legal source of truth.

Completing a Mapping

Once you have assigned the ingredient and confirmed the allergens, click Save Mapping. The product moves out of the queue, and ChinaYung:

• Adds the allergen data to every dish that uses this ingredient.
• Updates your allergen declarations in real time.
• Links the nutrition values from the standardized ingredient to your catalog.
• Marks the product for automatic recognition on future invoices.

The next unmapped product loads automatically, so you can work through the queue efficiently.

Tip: Mapping 20 to 30 products takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Schedule a short session after each invoice upload to stay on top of your queue.

Label as Source of Truth

For products where allergen or nutrition data is unclear, you can upload a photo of the product label directly during mapping.

How to Upload a Label Photo

1. Click Upload Label in the mapping panel.
2. Take a clear photo of the product’s ingredient list and nutrition table.
3. Upload the image (JPG, PNG, or WebP, max 20 MB).

ChinaYung extracts the text from the label and uses it to verify allergen flags and nutrition values.

Important rules for label photos:

• The entire ingredient list must be visible and legible.
• The nutrition table should be included if available.
• If the photo is blurry or partially cut off, ChinaYung will ask you to upload a new one.

Tip: The product label always takes priority over any other source. If the supplier website says „no allergens“ but the label lists soy, the label wins. This principle applies to all data in ChinaYung.

Tips for Efficient Mapping

• Map in batches. Process all products from one invoice before moving to the next.
• Same product, different packaging? If the same manufacturer sells the same product in different sizes (e.g., 255ml and 2.27kg), map them to the same ingredient. The allergen and nutrition data is identical.
• Check your progress regularly. The mapping progress bar on your dashboard shows your completion rate. Anything below 100% means potential gaps in your allergen declarations.
• GROWTH and PRO plans unlock advanced mapping features, including bulk mapping suggestions and supplier-specific product databases.