# Math you can check, line by line.

The compliance engine turns your confirmed grams into the panel in six fixed steps. No AI in the math.

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[See it worked through](#worked-example)

Figure: Sample Nutrition Facts label, Honey almond granola (sample): serving size 2/3 cup (60g), 240 calories per serving.

The granola’s Nutrition Facts label, the result of the six steps worked below

## Does AI do any of this math?

No. Six fixed steps run in the compliance engine: same recipe, same label. Before them, AI suggests matches, a weight only when no USDA portion fits and, in Studio, which ingredients add sugars. You review each one, change it or confirm it. We send recipe lines only to AI providers that do not train on them and keep none of them after answering.

- [How amounts become grams](https://bettermenu.live/platform/ingredient-data/#grams)

Figure: AI suggests the matches, then stops: you check each pick before the six fixed steps run AI reads your ingredient lines and suggests a USDA match for each. Grams pass through, ounces and pounds convert by fixed tables, cups and spoons use USDA portion weights, and AI estimates a weight only when no USDA portion fits. It stops there: you check each pick. Then six fixed steps run, the same way every time: Grams (g, oz, portions), Per 100 g (USDA or yours), Sum (the batch), Per serving (× serving ÷ batch), %DV (÷ Daily Value), Round (101.9(c)). The rounding is FDA's, 21 CFR 101.9(c).

AI stops before step one. Six fixed steps run to the label

## What does that look like on a real recipe?

A granola with real USDA values: a 60 g serving is 243.0 calories, shown as 240.

The batch

422 g

1. Step 1: Grams
2. Step 2: Per 100 g
3. Step 3: Sum

Steps 1 to 3 for the sample granola: each ingredient in grams, its calories, fat and sodium, its share of the batch, and its USDA value per 100 g

| Ingredient | Grams | Calories | Fat, g | Sodium, mg |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Honey, 4 tbsp | 84g | 255.4 in the batch. USDA: 304 /100 g, 15% of the batch | 0.00 in the batch. USDA: 0 /100 g, 0% of the batch | 3.4 in the batch. USDA: 4 /100 g, 0% of the batch |
| Salt, 1/2 tsp | 3g | 0.0 in the batch. USDA: 0 /100 g, 0% of the batch | 0.00 in the batch. USDA: 0 /100 g, 0% of the batch | 1,162.7 in the batch. USDA: 38,758 /100 g, 98% of the batch |
| Sliced almonds, 1 cup | 92g | 532.7 in the batch. USDA: 579 /100 g, 31% of the batch | 45.94 in the batch. USDA: 49.93 /100 g, 74% of the batch | 0.9 in the batch. USDA: 1 /100 g, 0% of the batch |
| Rolled oats, 3 cups | 243g | 921.0 in the batch. USDA: 379 /100 g, 54% of the batch | 15.84 in the batch. USDA: 6.52 /100 g, 26% of the batch | 14.6 in the batch. USDA: 6 /100 g, 1% of the batch |
| Batch | 422g | 1,709.0 | 61.78 | 1,181.6 |

Bars: each ingredient’s share of the batch. No adjustment for water lost in baking.

One 60 g serving

granola’s RACC

1. Step 4: Per serving
2. Step 5: %DV
3. Step 6: Round

60 g of the 422 g batch × 60 ÷ 422

Per 60 g serving: the exact amount, its %DV and the value the label prints, with the FDA rounding rule

| Per 60 g | % Daily Value |
| --- | --- |
| Calories 240 |  |
| 243.0 exact. Over 50: nearest 10, [101.9(c)(1)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-A/section-101.9#p-101.9(c)(1)) |  |
| Total Fat 9 g | 11% |
| 8.78 g exact, ÷ 78 g DV = 11%. 5 g and up: nearest gram, [101.9(c)(2)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-A/section-101.9#p-101.9(c)(2)) |  |
| Sodium 170 mg | 7% |
| 168.0 mg exact, ÷ 2,300 mg DV = 7%. Over 140 mg: nearest 10, [101.9(c)(4)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-A/section-101.9#p-101.9(c)(4)) |  |

%DV uses the exact amount. The label prints the rounded one.

## Is %DV worked out before or after rounding?

Before. The rule allows either, and Formulate uses the exact amount: the granola’s 8.78 g of fat gives 11%, where the rounded 9 g would give 12%.

> “or the actual amount of each nutrient (i.e., before rounding) by the DRV for the nutrient …”

[21 CFR 101.9(d)⁠(7)⁠(ii)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-A/section-101.9#p-101.9(d)(7)(ii))

## How close are BetterMenu’s numbers to a lab test?

They are calculated from USDA data, or the supplier values you add, and the weights you confirm, under FDA rounding rules. They can differ from a lab analysis of the finished product, especially when cooking changes its weight. Formulate does not adjust for water lost in cooking.

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## Read next

- [Check FDA rounding applied. In Studio, added sugars suggested for you to review and confirm.](https://bettermenu.live/formulate/check/)
- [Compliance engine Fixed FDA rules do every calculation and rounding. No AI in it.](https://bettermenu.live/platform/regulation-engine/)
- [Ingredient data USDA FoodData Central plus your own ingredients.](https://bettermenu.live/platform/ingredient-data/)

## Make your first label today.

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Source: https://bettermenu.live/platform/how-we-calculate/