How Scoring Works

How Scoring Works

A 0-100 rating of what's really in your products, backed by science, not trends.

100% Independent.No brand can buy a score.

The Five Worlds

Poor

Significant concerns. We recommend exploring other options.

Concerning

Elevated concerns identified. Consider alternatives.

Moderate

Moderate concerns present. Worth reviewing the details.

Good

Low concern. Minor issues, if any. A solid everyday choice.

Excellent

Lowest concern. Clean ingredient profile with strong nutritional value.

See It In Action

Example

Breakfast Cereal

Mana Score54
Neutral Valley
Safety68
  • BHT preservative detected
  • Natural flavors (vague label)
Nutrition52
  • High added sugar
  • Low fiber
  • Ultra-processed (NOVA 4)
ConfidenceHigh

Sub-scores are not simply averaged. Safety weighs more heavily, and processing level adjusts the result, so the overall score can sit below the nutrition number.

What We Analyze

Two dimensions, one score. Food products are scored on Safety and Nutrition. Non-food products are scored on Safety alone.

Safety always comes first. If our safety analysis identifies serious concerns, no amount of added vitamins can offset that. A nutritious product with a serious safety issue will score accordingly.

Safety Analysis

We evaluate 8 categories:

We check ingredients against global databases of known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and neurotoxins, classified by the strength of scientific evidence.

Example: Formaldehyde is an IARC Group 1 carcinogen. If we detect it, it lowers the score in proportion to how much is present.

Food additives, artificial colors, sweeteners, and preservatives are evaluated against published safety assessments from the EU, FDA, and independent research bodies. Each additive is weighed by the strength of the evidence against it. A substance banned abroad on solid evidence is treated differently from one with only early, unconfirmed signals.

Example: Red 40 and Yellow 5 are among the dyes that, under EU rules, must carry a warning that they may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.

We evaluate cooking oils and fats based on processing methods, thermal stability, and compositional quality, because not all oils are created equal.

Example: A cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and a heavily refined seed oil extracted with industrial solvents have very different risk profiles. Our scoring reflects that.

We assess how far a product is from its whole-food form using the NOVA classification, the most widely used food-processing framework, which appears in UN FAO reports.

Example: An apple scores differently from apple-flavored fruit snacks made with 15 synthetic ingredients.

We evaluate packaging for known chemical leaching risks, because the container is part of the product.

Example: Some PVC (#3) plastics contain phthalate plasticizers that can migrate into food. Glass is far more stable and does not leach into food.

Vague terms like fragrance, natural flavors, or proprietary blend are scored more conservatively. If we cannot verify it, we cannot give it a pass.

Example: Fragrance can legally represent 100+ undisclosed chemicals, some of them known endocrine disruptors.

We track active and recent FDA and CPSC recalls for the exact product you scanned, down to the specific SKU rather than the brand as a whole.

Example: A Class I recall, meaning a reasonable probability of serious health consequences, is factored in and shown to you.

Credible third-party certifications earn bonuses, but a certification alone cannot override detected hazards.

Example: Recognized: USDA Organic, EWG Verified, NSF International, USP Verified, OEKO-TEX, GOTS

Nutrition Analysis(food products only)

Built on Nutri-Score, a peer-reviewed framework used on millions of products and validated against health outcomes in large studies, then enhanced with processing level assessment and added sugar analysis.

Works against

Excess sugarExcess sodiumExcess saturated fatHigh calorie density

Works for

FiberProteinFruit, vegetable, and nut content

We also apply category-aware adjustments. Nuts are not penalized for fat, and cheese is not penalized for sodium. Whole-food and traditional fats such as olive oil and avocado are treated differently from refined and processed fats.

Data Confidence

Products with incomplete ingredient data cannot receive top scores. Every Mana Score comes with a confidence level:

High

Comprehensive data. Score is well-supported.

Medium

Good but not complete data. Reliable with minor gaps.

Low

Significant data gaps. Score is capped to reflect uncertainty.

Limited

Minimal data. Score is heavily constrained.

We would rather give you an honest "we are not sure" than a confident guess.

What Makes Us Different

We evaluate concentration

Where the data is available, we consider how much of a chemical is present, not only whether it is there. A trace amount and a significant dose are different risks. When several ingredients of concern appear together, we account for their combined effect.

We evaluate context

The same ingredient poses different risks in different products. A chemical in a food you eat daily is a different exposure than that chemical in a soap you rinse off in seconds.

We weigh evidence by quality, not by count

Not every study carries equal weight. We prioritize human clinical trials over animal studies, animal studies over cell-culture results, and replicated findings over single reports. When the evidence for harm is genuinely weak, we do not penalize an ingredient on the basis of one study. We put it on a watchlist and revisit it as the science develops.

We are honest about uncertainty

When we do not have enough data, we say so, and we cap the score accordingly. Every score comes with a confidence level so you know how much data is behind it.

Our Data Sources

The claims behind a Mana Score trace back to established scientific and regulatory sources. We cross-reference multiple databases across different countries.

  • IARC Monographs — Carcinogen classifications (WHO)
  • California Proposition 65 — Carcinogens and reproductive toxins
  • EU REACH Regulation — Restricted substances
  • EU Cosmetics Regulation — Prohibited substances
  • FDA GRAS List — Generally Recognized as Safe
  • National Toxicology Program — U.S. toxicology research
  • USDA FoodData Central — Nutrition composition
  • Open Food Facts — Open-source product database
  • USDA Pesticide Data Program — Pesticide residue monitoring
  • FDA Total Diet Study — Contaminant monitoring
  • Nutri-Score — Peer-reviewed nutrition profiling developed by INSERM's EREN research team in France
  • NOVA Classification — Food processing classification (Monteiro et al.)

Our Principles

Safety first

An ingredient with serious concerns cannot be saved by good nutrition. A serious safety problem caps how high a product can score.

The dose makes the poison

A chemical's risk depends on how much you are exposed to, not simply whether it exists.

Anchored to real standards

When we flag a level of something, we point to the recognized regulatory limit and, where data is available, how much is in the product. We separate above the legal limit from above a stricter health goal.

Honest about uncertainty

When we do not have enough data, we say so. We will not guess and call it knowledge.

Independent forever

No brand can pay to influence a score. No trade group can lobby us. No advertiser can pressure us.

Common Questions

Different apps evaluate different factors with different approaches. We evaluate safety and nutrition together, consider concentration and context, and cap scores when data is limited.

No. No brand, manufacturer, or trade group can pay for, pressure, or otherwise influence a score. They can submit factual corrections or updated product information, but any change follows the same evidence standards as every other score, and never comes from a payment or a request for a better result.

Natural, clean, and healthy are marketing terms, not regulated standards. We evaluate what is actually in the product, not what is printed on the front of the box.

A few categories carry overwhelming evidence of harm at the category level: tobacco, alcohol, and a handful of others where leading health authorities recognize no level free of risk. For these, the category itself sets the ceiling, so no individual formulation or added ingredient can lift the score out of the lowest range.

We publish every factor we evaluate, why it matters, and every data source we use. The exact formula is proprietary. If every brand knew the precise math, they would engineer products to game the score without actually making them better.

These terms can hide hundreds of undisclosed chemicals. When we cannot verify what is in a product, we score it more conservatively.

Continuously, as new research, regulatory data, or product formulations change.

No. It is an informational tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose or treat any condition and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

Mana can make mistakes. Always check the product label