How we score.

Honest math · Public data · No pay-to-rank

Every ScanVeer rating is a 0–100 score computed from open, public databases. No brand pays to rank higher, and the method is the same for everyone. Here's exactly how it works.

The Scale

Four tiers, one honest number

Excellent75–100

Good50–74

Poor25–49

Bad0–24

Food & Drinks

60% nutrition · 30% additives · 10% organic

Nutrition60% Additives30% Organic10%

Nutrition (60%) is based on the Nutri-Score, the peer-reviewed European nutrition-profiling system. It weighs calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt against fiber, protein and fruit/vegetable content. When a product has no published Nutri-Score (common for US store brands), we compute one ourselves from its nutrition facts using the official 2023 method.

Additives (30%) — every additive in the ingredient list is identified and weighed by its risk level, using assessments from public health bodies (IARC, EFSA, FDA). Low-risk additives like citric acid cost almost nothing; riskier ones like nitrites, artificial dyes or aspartame count heavily against the score.

Organic (10%) — certified-organic products get a flat bonus, because certification limits pesticide residues and synthetic additives.

The hard cap: any high-risk additive (e.g. sodium nitrite, titanium dioxide, aspartame, Red 40) caps the total score at 49/100 — a product with a serious red flag can never be rated "Good," no matter how clean its nutrition looks.

Also: a Nutri-Score grade of D or E caps the score at 49, and sugary drinks are penalized on the much stricter beverage scale — only water and plain drinks score well.

Cosmetics & Personal Care

Your worst ingredient sets the score

Cosmetics aren't about nutrition — they're about hazard. We scan the full ingredient list (INCI) against a database of ingredients flagged by public health research: parabens, formaldehyde releasers, endocrine-disrupting UV filters, strong allergens, and more.

High-hazard ingredient present (e.g. triclosan, formaldehyde, phthalates) → the product lands in the Bad band.
Moderate-hazard only (e.g. some preservatives, harsh sulfates) → Poor.
Minor concerns only (e.g. fragrance allergens like limonene) → Good.
Nothing flagged → Excellent.

The worst ingredient drives the band — because one endocrine disruptor isn't offset by ten clean ingredients around it.

Supplements

Judged on what's around the actives

Supplement labels come from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD). Since dosing "correctness" varies per person, we score what quality actually depends on:

Banned or unapproved substances (DMAA, ephedra, SARMs, and others flagged by the FDA/WADA) → capped deep in the Bad band.
Proprietary blends — hidden per-ingredient doses cost points, because you can't verify what you're taking.
Fillers, artificial sweeteners & dyes in the "other ingredients" (sucralose, titanium dioxide, Red 40, maltodextrin…) each count against the score.
Clean-label signals — third-party testing (NSF, Informed Sport, USP), organic certification, and no-artificial-additive claims earn points back.

Same hard cap: any high-risk ingredient caps the score at 49, and any banned substance caps it at 22.

The Data

Open sources, credited

ScanVeer computes every score live from open public databases, maintained by nonprofit communities and the US National Institutes of Health:

Open Food Facts Open Beauty Facts NIH DSLD

Risk assessments for additives and ingredients reference published findings from IARC (WHO's cancer research agency), EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), the FDA, and peer-reviewed studies. Tap any additive inside the app to see its specific science.

Honest limits: ScanVeer ratings are informational — they are not medical advice, and a score is only as complete as the public data behind it. Some products have missing or outdated ingredient lists; when data is thin, we say so in the result instead of guessing. Scores are built to help you compare products and choose better, not to diagnose or treat anything. Talk to a professional for personal dietary or medical decisions.

See it on something in your kitchen

Scan any barcode and watch the score build from this exact method.

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