Methodology

Every Labelgrade is a transparent 0–100 score plus a letter grade, derived from a fixed formula applied to public USDA nutrition data. This page documents the formula, the data sources, our editorial process, and the limitations we know about.

Updated 2026-05-27 (v3): Added saturated fat as a 6th dimension and tightened the sodium scale. Several products' grades moved as a result — see the "Why did the formula change?" FAQ at the bottom for the honest reasoning. We re-grade transparently because pretending cheese isn't high in saturated fat doesn't help anyone shop smarter.

The six dimensions

The overall Labelgrade is a weighted blend of six dimensions. Each has its own 0–100 sub-score and letter grade displayed on every product page.

1. Protein density (25%)

Grams of protein per 100g of food. The most fundamental "how much protein is in this thing" metric — independent of arbitrary serving sizes that vary between brands and packages.

protein_density_score = min(100, 50 + (g_protein_per_100g × 1.5))

So 0 g/100 g floors at 50, the average packaged-food protein source (around 15 g/100 g) lands near 73, plain cooked chicken breast at 31 g/100 g reaches ~96, and an isolated whey concentrate (~80 g/100 g) maxes out at 100.

2. Ingredient quality (22%)

Starts from a base of 75 and adjusts by the presence of specific markers:

The result is clamped to [0, 100].

3. Saturated fat load (18%) — added 2026-05-27

Grams of saturated fat per 100g of product. FDA Daily Value is 20g. This dimension was added to stop full-fat cheese, fatty meats, and similar products from scoring well purely on protein density when they deliver a substantial saturated-fat load.

4. Sodium load (15%) — tightened 2026-05-27

Milligrams of sodium per 100g. FDA daily limit is 2,300 mg.

5. Sugar load (12%)

Total sugars per 100g, with added sugars weighted more heavily. Naturally-occurring lactose in dairy receives a 12-point credit because it's bound to a milk-protein matrix and metabolized differently than refined sugars.

6. Fiber (8%)

Grams of fiber per 100g. Score floors at 30 (since animal protein products are expected to have 0 g) and climbs from there. FDA Daily Value: 28 g.

How letter grades map to scores

Data sources

1. USDA FoodData Central (primary). The federal government's open nutrition database. We pull from the Branded Foods set, accessed via api.data.gov. Every product page cites the USDA FDC ID and a direct link back to the source entry.
2. Open Food Facts (secondary). Used where USDA doesn't have coverage, especially for international or niche brands. Always flagged on the page when used.
3. Manufacturer label images (verification). For the top 10% of pages by traffic, we manually cross-check USDA numbers against the current retail label image, photographed in store or sourced from the retailer's product detail page.

Editorial process

1. Ingestion. A product is pulled from USDA, normalized, and stored locally as JSON.
2. Compute. The 6-dimension Labelgrade is computed from the normalized JSON by our published formula.
3. Generate. A Product Fact Sheet markdown is written from the JSON + computed score + same-category siblings. The post structure is standardized (see the content strategy doc).
4. Publish. The post goes live with the source citations and a "Last verified" timestamp.
5. Refresh. Top-traffic pages are re-verified monthly; all pages quarterly. Refreshes update the "Last verified" date even when no values change.

Corrections

If you spot an inaccuracy on any page, please contact us. Confirmed corrections are logged on our corrections page and the affected page is updated within 24 hours. We do not silently edit numeric claims — corrections are dated and described.

Conflicts of interest

Labelgrade participates in retailer and brand affiliate programs (Amazon Associates and others — see /affiliate-disclosure). A click-through that results in a purchase may earn Labelgrade a commission at no extra cost to the buyer.

Affiliate relationships do not affect the Labelgrade score for any product. The score is computed by the formula above applied to public data, before any affiliate consideration. We do not accept sponsored placements, paid reviews, or compensation in exchange for higher grades or favorable coverage. If we ever do, this page will be updated to disclose it.

Own-brand products (private label)

Labelgrade sells a small number of own-brand SKUs through /shop. These are manufactured for us by a US-based, GMP-certified private-label partner. We hold the brand; the partner holds the manufacturing facility and FDA registration. We do this to convert the editorial authority of Labelgrade into higher-margin revenue than affiliate programs alone — which keeps us ad-light and independent of any brand we cover.

The conflict of interest is real, and we manage it with these rules (the same rules listed in editorial standards):

1. Same scoring methodology. Own-brand SKUs are graded by the exact six-dimension v3 formula above. There is no separate methodology, no "private-label bonus," no curve. If our whey protein scores B+ on the same scale that Optimum Nutrition scores A−, we publish B+.
2. No reordering. The sort order in /explore, /collections, /best roundups, and /compare pages is determined by score, period. An own-brand SKU appears wherever its honest score puts it — below stronger competitors, above weaker ones. The dim-strip data attribute used for client-side sort is the same one used for every competitor product.
3. Mandatory page-level disclosure. Every own-brand product page displays a clearly-visible disclosure above the dim-strip identifying the product as Labelgrade-branded and linking back to this section. The disclosure is rendered automatically by the page layout — it cannot be suppressed by frontmatter or by editorial discretion.
4. Curation rule. We only put the Labelgrade name on a SKU whose ingredient panel scores B+ or better on the methodology above. SKUs that score below B+ are rejected from the catalog rather than re-formulated to look better. The point is to attach our brand only to products we'd be willing to rank on merit against competitors anyway.
5. If a competitor outscores us, we publish that comparison. Cross-brand comparisons (Labelgrade whey vs. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard whey, etc.) are included in our normal comparison-page rotation. Including the comparisons we lose.
6. Automated guardrail check. A script in scripts/audit-guardrails.ts runs on every deploy. It fails the build if (a) any code path branches on isPrivateLabel inside the scoring logic, (b) any own-brand product page is rendered without the disclosure component, (c) any sort or filter on /explore, /collections, /best, or /compare applies preference based on own-brand status rather than score.
7. External audit option. If Labelgrade ever crosses ~$100K/year in own-brand revenue, we will commission an annual third-party audit of the scoring algorithm and publish the result.

If any of these rules ever appear to be violated, please tell us via the corrections page and we will investigate and publish what we find — including cases where we were wrong.

What this scoring does not capture

• Total nutrition for your specific needs. Labelgrade is a packaged-food scoring system. It is not a verdict on whether a food is "right for your diet" — only a measurement against the same six dimensions for every product.
• Trans fat. Most trans fats were eliminated from the US food supply by FDA partial-hydrogenation ban (2018). We track total fat and saturated fat; trans fat is shown on the page but not separately scored.
• Allergies and intolerances. We list ingredients but don't compute allergen warnings. Always read the actual product label.
• Taste, texture, or culinary fit. We're scoring the nutrition label, not the eating experience.
• Environmental, ethical, or sourcing claims. A higher Labelgrade does not mean a product is better for the planet, more humanely produced, or sourced from any particular region.
• Cost (yet). Protein-per-dollar is a planned 7th dimension once we have a reliable retail-pricing pipeline.
• Total fat or calorie density beyond saturated fat. A food can be calorie-dense and still score well if its saturated fat, sugar, and sodium are low (e.g., nuts). That's an intentional choice — total calories matter for weight management but vary entirely by intended portion.