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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
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.

AI suggests the matches, then stops: you check each pick before the six fixed steps runAI 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 suggestsPecans, rawAI pickYou check each pick1Gramsg, oz, portions2Per 100 gUSDA or yours3Sumthe batch4Per serving× serving ÷ batch5%DV÷ Daily Value6Round101.9(c)AI suggests the matches, then stops: you check each pick before the six fixed steps runAI 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 suggestsPecans, rawAI pickYou check each pick1Gramsg, oz, portions2Per 100 gUSDA or yours3Sumthe batch4Per serving× serving ÷ batch5%DV÷ Daily Value6Round101.9(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
IngredientGramsCaloriesFat, gSodium, mg
Honey, 4 tbsp84g255.4 in the batch. USDA: 304 /100 g, 15% of the batch0.00 in the batch. USDA: 0 /100 g, 0% of the batch3.4 in the batch. USDA: 4 /100 g, 0% of the batch
Salt, 1/2 tsp3g0.0 in the batch. USDA: 0 /100 g, 0% of the batch0.00 in the batch. USDA: 0 /100 g, 0% of the batch1,162.7 in the batch. USDA: 38,758 /100 g, 98% of the batch
Sliced almonds, 1 cup92g532.7 in the batch. USDA: 579 /100 g, 31% of the batch45.94 in the batch. USDA: 49.93 /100 g, 74% of the batch0.9 in the batch. USDA: 1 /100 g, 0% of the batch
Rolled oats, 3 cups243g921.0 in the batch. USDA: 379 /100 g, 54% of the batch15.84 in the batch. USDA: 6.52 /100 g, 26% of the batch14.6 in the batch. USDA: 6 /100 g, 1% of the batch
Batch422g1,709.061.781,181.6
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
Calories240
243.0 exact. Over 50: nearest 10, 101.9(c)(1)
Total Fat9 g11%
8.78 g exact, ÷ 78 g DV = 11%. 5 g and up: nearest gram, 101.9(c)(2)
Sodium170 mg7%
168.0 mg exact, ÷ 2,300 mg DV = 7%. Over 140 mg: nearest 10, 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)

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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