Patent ID: 8285593

Claim:
A method for identifying one or more source material for one or more food items, comprising: assigning a sequence of numbers to a plurality of source material received at a processing entity, the sequence of numbers assigned in an order of receiving; assigning a different sequence of numbers to a plurality of food product units processed from the plurality of source material at the processing entity, the different sequence of numbers assigned in an order of processing; determining a production rate associated with the food product units from a bill of materials associated with the food product units, the bill of materials including at least a list of raw materials and quantities of the raw materials used to manufacture a final food product; generating a probability distribution function, by at least one processor, using at least the production rate, and mapping, by the at least one processor, a range of the sequence numbers associated with the plurality of source material to the range of sequence numbers associated with the food product units based on the generated probability distribution function; receiving a selected food product whose source material is to be determined; and identifying, by the at least one processor, the source material associated with the selected food product by executing a conversion algorithm that uses the probability distribution function to determine the source material associated with the selected food product. wherein the identifying includes identifying the source material associated with the selected food product with a level of confidence.