Two models, because two different questions. An ingredient is graded on what is in it. A branded product is graded on that too, plus what has been done to it — processing, additives, and how much is on the label that you would not put there yourself. Recipes use the ingredient model, applied to the finished dish.
Seven parts, six that add and one that subtracts. The figures are the highest each part reaches across the catalog — they are what the scorer produces, rather than a rubric written beside it.
Vitamins and minerals per 100 g, against Daily Values
Amino acid completeness, not protein mass alone
Polyphenols, carotenoids and the like, where measured
Total fibre per 100 g
Monounsaturated and omega-3 share of total fat
How sharply the carbohydrate load moves blood sugar
A penalty: phytates, oxalates and lectins that block absorption
Everything is measured per 100 g, which is why a spice can outrank a vegetable — the card states the real serving underneath for exactly that reason.
Six categories that always apply, and a seventh that applies when there is something to measure. 9 products carry the bioactives category.
Artificial colours, sweeteners, preservatives and emulsifiers
What a serving delivers relative to its calories
NOVA group — how far it is from the food it came from
How many things are in it, and whether you recognise them
Added sugar and salt against the serving it declares
Organic, non-GMO and provenance claims that are certified
Only when measured compounds are present — optional, so the column can reach 115
On both models the published score is normalised, so the parts are a decomposition of it rather than the sum that made it. Measured: only 6 of 487 ingredients land within half a point of their own parts, with a median gap of 11.7; 64 of 719 recipes do.
So a breakdown here tells you which parts of a food are carrying it, and does not let you rebuild the number yourself. Supplements are the exception — those components genuinely sum, and that page says so.
A brand's grade averages its whole line rather than its best item, across nutrition, sourcing, processing, certifications and transparency. A brand graded on one product is marked as thin evidence on its card, because one product is not a track record.
It scores composition, not diet. A high-scoring food eaten instead of a meal is not the same as a balanced one, and nothing here knows your portions, your allergies or your labs.
Nutrition values come from USDA FoodData Central and published labels. Labels are rounded by law, and a rounded zero is not always a zero. Not medical advice.
Commission is earned on some purchases. No brand can pay to change a score.
