Identity, Transformation, and Function: A Tri-Axial Model for the Classification of Food Ingredient Identity

Food ingredient classification in India confronts a structural problem that neither label standardisation nor taxonomy alone resolves: the same substance appears under dozens of names across regulatory filings, procurement systems, and consumer labels, while substances that share a name may differ in ways that determine their legal status, tax bracket, and nutritional profile. This report proposes the E-M-F Tri-Axial Identity Model  as a principled, evidence-grounded framework for assigning a determinate identity position to any food ingredient. The three axes measure, respectively, the invasiveness of the transformation pathway (Anthropogenic Energy, $E$), the degree of departure from the original biological matrix (Matter, $M$), and the degree to which technological function governs regulatory naming and trade classification rather than biological origin (Function, $F$). From these three coordinates, a composite Divorce Score ($D$) is derived that partitions ingredients into three operationally meaningful zones: variants of a biological source, independent canonical entities, and functional tools whose identity is defined by role rather than origin. The framework is grounded in existing Indian regulatory instruments---the FSSAI Labelling and Display Regulations 2020, the Food Products Standards and Food Additives Regulations 2011, and the Indian Trade Classification (Harmonised System)---and validated against judicial reasoning from the Supreme Court of India and the Delhi High Court. A 35-item benchmark tests the discriminatory power of the model and provides a replicable standard for future refinements. The model provides the deterministic ingredient-level substrate on which product-level food classification frameworks can operate with greater precision and consistency.