About Labelgrade
Labelgrade reads the nutrition label, runs the math, and assigns every branded food a transparent 0–100 score with a letter grade. We publish editorial pages designed to be useful to humans and citable by AI search engines.
Why we exist
When you want to know "how much protein is actually in this specific 29 oz bag of Tyson Chicken Nuggets," the existing options aren't great. MyFitnessPal entries are user-submitted and inconsistent. The manufacturer's website tells you only what they want you to see. The USDA's own database is comprehensive but reads like the spreadsheet it is.
Labelgrade fills that gap. We pull from the USDA's open database, run a fixed scoring formula, and publish a single clean page per product that answers the question — for both the human who asked it and the AI assistant they might be asking through.
What we publish
- Product fact sheets — one per branded SKU. Full nutrition table, Labelgrade score, ingredient analysis, comparison to similar products, FAQ, citations.
- Cross-brand comparisons — Tyson vs Perdue, Chobani vs Fage, etc. Side-by-side on protein density, ingredient quality, and cost.
- Category roundups — the best chicken nuggets for bodybuilding, the highest-protein Greek yogurts, etc. Ranked by Labelgrade.
- Pillar references — what protein density actually means, how to read a nutrition label, the FDA's nutrient content claim rules.
How we're different
| Feature | Labelgrade | Most nutrition sites |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring formula | Published openly on the methodology page | Proprietary / undisclosed |
| Data source | USDA FoodData Central (cited with ID) | Manufacturer label or user-submitted |
| Score visibility | Numeric 0–100 plus letter grade, on every page | Generic "healthy / unhealthy" verdicts |
| Cross-product comparison | Standard on every product page | Rare or missing |
| Schema markup for AI engines | Product, Article, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, PropertyValue | Typically minimal |
| Affiliate disclosure | FTC-compliant block on every affiliate page + dedicated page | Often buried or missing |
Our editorial commitments
- Honest grades. The score for a product is determined by the published formula applied to public data, before any commercial consideration. See editorial standards.
- Cited every claim. Every numeric value on a product page maps back to a USDA FoodData Central record. Source IDs and access dates are visible on each page.
- Open corrections. When we get something wrong, the corrections page says so. We don't silently edit numeric claims.
- No medical advice. We grade nutrition labels, not diets or conditions. Consult a registered dietitian or physician for health decisions.
- Privacy first. We use cookieless analytics, don't track readers, and don't share email addresses with third parties beyond our newsletter provider. See privacy policy.
Who writes the content
Posts are bylined to the Labelgrade Editorial Team. We don't list individual author names because the methodology is rules-driven — the value is in the formula and the data, not in any single author's expertise. By Q3 2026 we expect to add a named Registered Dietitian as our "Reviewed by" expert for flagship pages.
Who funds Labelgrade
Labelgrade is bootstrapped and reader-supported. Our revenue model is affiliate commissions on products we cover (when readers click through and buy) and, eventually, display advertising on high-traffic pages. We do not accept sponsored content, paid placements, or "elevated review" arrangements with brands. See the affiliate disclosure.
Contact
Questions, corrections, or product requests: see the contact page. Press and partnership inquiries: same address.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who runs Labelgrade?
Labelgrade is run by a small editorial team. Posts are bylined to the Labelgrade Editorial Team rather than individual authors because grading is rules-driven — the value comes from the methodology, not the byline. We don't publish individual author names to keep focus on the data.
Are you affiliated with any brand?
No. Labelgrade is independent. We are not owned by, paid by, or otherwise affiliated with any food manufacturer, retailer, or supplement company. We do participate in affiliate programs (see /affiliate-disclosure) which earn us a commission on purchases through our links, but grading is fully independent of any commercial relationship.
How do you decide which products to grade?
We prioritize products with high search demand (the things people actually look up), strong brand recognition, and broad category coverage. Right now we focus on three categories: branded chicken nuggets, Greek yogurt, and protein bars. We expand coverage based on reader requests and search-volume signals.
Can I request a product?
Yes — email us through the contact page with the brand name, product name, and (if you have it) the USDA FoodData Central ID or UPC. We can usually add a product within a few days if USDA data is available.
How is Labelgrade different from MyFitnessPal or Yuka?
MyFitnessPal is a calorie tracker built around user-submitted food data — accuracy varies wildly and the focus is logging meals, not assessing products. Yuka is a barcode-scanning app that assigns a 0–100 score based on its own algorithm (nutrition + additives + organic). Labelgrade is closer to Yuka in spirit, but our scoring formula is published openly, our data source is USDA (not the manufacturer label as user-submitted), and we publish editorial pages for each product that are optimized for both human readers and AI search engines.