A quality read on food, not just a calorie count

What it does

Every food in NutrientOS gets a quality score and a plain-language label — Good choice, Fair choice, or Review often — plus the specific reasons behind it.

The score is built from the food's own nutrition data: protein and fibre relative to calories, added sugar, sodium, energy density, and a classification of how processed the food appears to be, from whole food through to ultra-processed.

Who it is useful for

• •People who have hit their macros and stalled anyway and suspect the composition of those macros is part of the story.
• •People choosing between two similar products in a supermarket aisle, where the labels look comparable and the difference is in fibre, sodium, and additives.
• •Anyone who dislikes food moralising and wants a reason attached to a rating rather than a colour with no explanation.

What NutrientOS shows you

• •A score and one of three labels, shown wherever a food appears.
• •The specific reasons for the grade — what raised it and what pulled it down.
• •A processing classification, from whole food to ultra-processed.
• •Smart Food Swaps: comparable foods that score better, so a low grade comes with an option rather than a scolding.

Known limitations

Any single-number food score is a compression, and compressions lose information. These are the specific ways Food Grade can mislead.

• •It grades a food, not a diet. Olive oil and butter score poorly on energy density in isolation while being entirely reasonable parts of a diet. Context is yours to supply.
• •Data quality caps score quality. A record missing fibre and micronutrients will grade lower than the real food deserves, because the evidence for a higher grade is absent.
• •Processing classification is inferred. It is derived from the record's data and description, not from a manufacturing audit, and it can be wrong on unusual products.
• •It ignores everything personal. Allergies, intolerances, medications, medical conditions, cultural context, and simple enjoyment are not inputs and cannot be.

Food Grade is informational. It is not medical or dietary advice, not a safety rating, and not a claim about what any individual should eat.

How missing data is handled

A grade is computed from the values that exist. Missing nutrients are not counted as zero — they simply cannot contribute evidence, which is why sparse records tend to grade conservatively. Where completeness is low enough to matter, that is surfaced rather than hidden.

How it connects to the rest of NutrientOS

Food Grade shares inputs with the satiety estimate, and both appear on the same food detail view alongside macros and micronutrients, so quality, fullness, and numbers are read together instead of in separate screens.

Common questions

Does a low Food Grade mean I should not eat something?

No. It means the food is comparatively low in nutrient density or high in things worth watching, based on its data. Plenty of low-grading foods have a sensible place in a diet. The grade is context for a decision you make.

Why do two similar products get different grades?

Usually fibre, sodium, added sugar, or data completeness. The reasons list on each food shows exactly which factors moved that specific grade.

Is Food Grade the same as Nutri-Score or NOVA?

No. It is a NutrientOS calculation. Where a record carries Nutri-Score or NOVA values they can inform related signals, but Food Grade is computed by NutrientOS from the food's nutrition data and is not an official rating from any external body.