The CREAM Standard

CR-S(CREAM Standard)

Turning evidence into an understandable quality standard for food.

CR-S is being developed as an evidence-based, product-level food quality assessment system. It is designed to connect relevant quality information and supporting evidence into a clear, auditable and understandable product-level quality result.

Explore how CR-S works
  • Origin & AuthenticityOrigin and authenticity information relevant to the product category.
  • Production & ProcessingProduction and processing information that can support the assessment.
  • Laboratory EvidenceLaboratory results relevant to the product's quality attributes.
  • Nutrition & CompositionNutrition and composition as one of several quality dimensions.
  • Traceability DataTraceability data linking the product to its documented history.
  • Documentation & AssuranceDocumentation and assurance designed to be reviewable and auditable.

Why do we need CR-S?

Food quality information is fragmented.

Information relevant to food quality exists across many different sources — from origin and production data to laboratory results, nutrition information, traceability and supporting documentation.

These sources are often separate, difficult to compare and not presented as one coherent product-level quality picture.

CR-S is being developed to connect the relevant evidence into a consistent and auditable quality assessment architecture.

Fragmented information is connected through CR-S into a coherent quality assessment.

How CR-S works

From evidence to a clear quality result.

  1. 1 Evidence

    Relevant product-specific evidence

    Data, laboratory results, documentation, origin, production information and traceability can support the assessment.

    • Origin & authenticity
    • Production & processing
    • Laboratory evidence
    • Nutrition & composition
    • Traceability data
    • Documentation & assurance
  2. 2 Assessment

    Evidence-based quality assessment

    Relevant quality attributes and evidence requirements are defined according to the product category, supporting a consistent and auditable assessment process.

  3. 3 Result

    GOOD · BETTER · BEST

    CR-S is designed to distinguish product quality above minimum food-safety requirements through three cumulative quality levels.

    • GOOD
    • BETTER
    • BEST

Understandable quality
for consumers

Making food quality understandable.

CR-S is being developed to translate complex quality evidence into information that can be understood beyond the technical and professional environment.

Ultimately, CREAM is being developed so that consumers can receive credible, accurate and understandable information about the real quality of food products — and the evidence behind it.

Key characteristics

  • Evidence-based

    Built on relevant and documented information.

  • Product-specific

    Quality is considered according to the characteristics of the product category.

  • Multi-dimensional

    Food quality is viewed through multiple relevant dimensions rather than one isolated attribute.

  • Auditable

    The underlying evidence and assessment process are designed to be reviewable.

  • Understandable

    Complex quality information is translated into a clear result.

  • International by design

    Developed with international applicability and collaboration in mind.

Towards a more understandable food-quality future.

CR-S is a core element of CREAM's mission to make food quality more verifiable, transparent and understandable.