Every product page used to show a single score out of 100. That number is still there and it still means exactly what it always meant: ingredient quality, dry-matter composition, printed transparency, processing type and additives. We now call it the Recipe score, and it works by the same rules as before. The coefficients behind it were re-calibrated, so you may see some scores move by a few points; a product's position relative to others is essentially unchanged.

Model v2 adds four further scores alongside it, each measuring something the headline never did:

Nutritional

How the declared analytical constituents (protein, fat, fibre, ash and so on) compare with FEDIAF reference ranges for adult dogs, converted to a dry-matter basis before scoring. A confidence marker shows how much of the analysis the manufacturer actually published: high, medium or low. Missing data is shown, never guessed silently.

Transparency

A ten-item checklist based on the FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice and Regulation 767/2009: ingredient list, printed percentages, analytical constituents, additives, energy value, complete/complementary designation, feeding guidance, manufacturer identity, country of manufacture and batch labelling. Mandatory items carry the most weight.

Safety

Recall and safety-notice history with time decay: a recent incident counts against the brand more than an old one, and a published response halves the deduction. Crucially, this score never feeds the headline. A recalled food is rated the same as an identical non-recalled food; the incident list is simply shown next to the number.

Evidence

The marketing claims on the pack and product page, graded by substantiation: manufacturer assertion, a cited peer-reviewed source, or product-specific trial evidence. The quality marker (strong, moderate, limited) reflects the best evidence on file.

What did not change

  • The 1-100 headline is still the Recipe score, computed with the same rules; the re-calibration moved some scores by a few points, but rankings are essentially unchanged.
  • None of the four new scores feed the headline number.
  • Recall history still never changes a product's rating.
  • Every product page keeps its expandable workings, now one panel per dimension.

You will find the five scores as a strip beneath the product score on every food page, each expandable to show how it was calculated.