Science

How we grade
every food.

Every product gets a health score out of 10 — derived from nutrition data, processing level, and additive content. No guesswork, no sponsorship.

Where the data comes from

Vitaliq combines three authoritative sources to build the most accurate Indian food database available.

Open Food Facts

3M+ global products. Community-maintained. Barcode-linked nutrition data.

ICMR-NIN (2023)

Indian Council of Medical Research. Authoritative nutrient values for 300+ Indian dishes.

Label OCR

When a barcode is not in our database, our AI reads the nutrition label from a photo and scores it in seconds.

Scoring algorithm

Points are added and deducted from a base of 10. The final raw score is clamped to 1–10, then mapped to a grade.

Factor	Points	Rule
Start	+10	Every product starts with a base score of 10
Sugar	−1 to −4	Per % of daily limit: >10% = −1, >20% = −2, >35% = −3, >50% = −4
Sodium	−1 to −3	Per mg: >400 = −1, >800 = −2, >1200 = −3
Saturated fat	−1 to −2	Per g: >3g = −1, >6g = −2
Trans fat	−2	Any trans fat detected = automatic −2
Additives	−0.5 each	INS/E-code additives flagged from WHO and EFSA banned lists
Fibre bonus	+1 to +2	≥3g = +1, ≥6g = +2
Protein bonus	+1 to +2	≥8g = +1, ≥15g = +2
Clamp	1–10	Raw score is clamped to 1–10 before grade assignment

Grade thresholds

After scoring, the raw 1–10 value maps to a letter grade:

Excellent — score 9–10 / 10

Whole, minimally processed food. High protein or fiber, low sodium, no additives. Safe for all conditions.

Good — score 7–8 / 10

Mildly processed. Good nutritional balance. May have minor concerns (e.g., moderate sodium).

Moderate — score 5–6 / 10

Processed. Some useful nutrients offset by sugar, sodium, or refined carbs. Eat occasionally.

Poor — score 3–4 / 10

High in trans-fat, sodium, or sugar. Low nutritional value. Additives present. Minimise intake.

Harmful — score 1–2 / 10

Ultra-processed. Dangerous additives, extreme sodium/sugar, or known carcinogens detected.

Condition-aware adjustments

When a user marks a health condition in their profile, grades adapt. A food that is fine for a healthy person may be a Grade D for a diabetic. The base grade never changes — only what the user sees for their own body.

Condition	Trigger	Adjustment
Diabetes	Sugar > 10g or GI > 70	Grade drops 1 level if sugar > 10g per serving
High BP	Sodium > 400mg	Grade drops 1 level if sodium > 400mg per serving
PCOD	Refined flour detected	Grade drops 1 level if maida/refined wheat is in top 3 ingredients
Thyroid	Goitrogens detected	Grade drops 1 level if raw cruciferous vegetables or soy are primary ingredients
Cholesterol	Sat fat > 3g or cholesterol > 60mg	Grade drops 1 level if saturated fat or dietary cholesterol is high
Obesity	Calories > 350 kcal/serving	Grade drops 1 level if calorie density is high for portion size

Condition adjustments use an "at-least-2" rule to prevent double-penalising the same ingredient (e.g., sugar already deducted in the base score is not deducted again for the diabetes trigger unless the threshold is independently crossed).

The independence guarantee

Vitaliq runs a commercial partnership programme — Grade A and B products can be highlighted as purchase alternatives for a fee, always labelled PARTNER. Partner status has zero effect on the underlying health score. This is in our terms of service and survives any acquisition.