Normalisation
From a noisy label to a stable score
Raw ingredient declarations are messy. We normalise every panel against a common reference distribution before a single point is awarded, so a 0–100 score means the same thing on every product.
Pre-launch — building a score for every dog food
Know exactly what's in your dog's bowl
We're building a citation-backed quality score, from 0 to 100, for every commercial dog food product — reading every ingredient and grounding each number in peer-reviewed canine nutrition science. No brand pays for a score.
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Example score0–100Transparent quality scale
Two-axisQuality and evidence, kept separate
CitedEvery score sourced to research
$0A brand can never pay for a score
The BiteRated engine
Watch a label become a score
Here's how the score comes together. Every product runs through the same four-step pipeline:
- The full ingredient deck is parsed, ingredient by ingredient.
- Each ingredient is matched against the evidence library.
- Penalties and weights are applied from the documented rubric.
- A final 0–100 quality score is produced alongside its evidence confidence rating.
Analyzing product
Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe
- Deboned chicken94/100
Named animal protein, first ingredient
- Chicken meal86/100
Concentrated named protein source
- Brown rice72/100
Digestible whole grain carbohydrate
- Dried beet pulp64/100
Moderate-value fibre source
- Natural flavour38/100
Unspecified — transparency penalty applied
Illustrative example. Real scores weigh 60+ documented factors including protein sourcing, processing intensity, additive safety, and recall history.
87Quality score
Nutritional quality: Excellent (Band A)
Evidence confidence: High — 23 citations
Independence: Brand paid nothing for this score
How scoring works
A published methodology, not a marketing badge
Every ingredient, decoded
We parse the full ingredient panel of every product — named meats, by-products, fillers, additives, and preservatives — and evaluate each against peer-reviewed canine nutrition research.
Scored against published standards
Nutrient profiles are checked against AAFCO and NRC regulatory standards. Every weight, threshold, and penalty in our rubric is written down and openly documented.
Two axes, one honest number
The two-axis architecture is a scoring design that separates nutritional quality from evidence confidence, so you always know how strong the science is behind each score.
The 0–100 scale
Every score lands in a band you can interpret at a glance
A BiteRated score is a 0–100 rating that measures a dog food product's nutritional quality from its documented weights and penalties. The same number always means the same thing, whether the product is a premium air-dried recipe or a supermarket kibble.
0255075100
| Score range | Rating | Share of scale | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Outstanding | 11% | Named animal proteins lead the deck, full nutrient transparency, no high-risk additives, and strong manufacturing track record. |
| 75–89 | Excellent | 15% | High-quality formulation with minor deductions — for example a single unspecified flavouring or a moderate carbohydrate load. |
| 60–74 | Acceptable | 15% | Meets AAFCO/NRC adequacy but carries meaningful penalties: generic meals, heavy fillers, or limited sourcing disclosure. |
| 40–59 | Below standard | 20% | Multiple red flags such as unnamed by-products, artificial preservatives with documented risk, or repeated recalls. |
| 0–39 | Poor | 39% | Serious formulation or safety concerns. We document every penalty so you can verify each deduction against the rubric. |
Inside the methodology
The science behind every number
BiteRated is built on published, peer-reviewed canine nutrition science. Here is how a printed ingredient list becomes a transparent, citation-backed quality score — step by step.
Two-axis model
Quality and confidence, kept separate
Nutritional quality lives on one axis; the strength of the supporting evidence lives on another. A great recipe with thin data and a proven recipe with deep data are never quietly averaged together.
Evidence graph
Every score traces back to citations
Peer-reviewed canine nutrition studies feed each scoring node. The more independent, high-quality sources converge on a finding, the more confidence the final number carries.
Penalty rubric
Documented deductions, not vibes
Vague meat meals, undisclosed additives, and unnamed by-products each carry a published, fixed penalty. You can see exactly how much every red flag costs a product.
Regulatory floor
Measured against AAFCO & NRC
Each formula is checked against AAFCO nutrient profiles and NRC requirements. Falling below a regulatory threshold is treated as a hard signal, not a rounding error.
Scoring pipeline
One transparent path for every product
Label parsing, weighting, and aggregation all run through the same documented pipeline. Every weight and threshold is written down — and no brand can pay to change it.
Sample scores
One honest number for every product
Each score is built from the full ingredient panel and nutrient analysis — and every deduction links back to the published rubric.
| Product | Category | Score (out of 100) | Why it scored this way |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pasture-Raised Lamb & Oats | Dry food — Adult | 94 | Named animal protein first, full nutrient disclosure, third-party feeding trials. |
| Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe | Dry food — All life stages | 86 | Strong omega-3 profile; minor deduction for unnamed fish meal in position six. |
| Classic Beef Dinner Pâté | Wet food — Adult | 71 | AAFCO-complete but relies on by-product meal and added carrageenan. |
| Budget Crunchy Bites | Dry food — Adult | 43 | Corn-first formula, unnamed animal fat, artificial preservative penalties applied. |
Illustrative examples. Real scores will appear here as we build out the product database.
What lowers a score
We penalize what the label tries to hide
The dog food aisle is built to be confusing. Glossy bags, invented superlatives, and ingredient decks engineered to read better than they are. BiteRated cuts through it with a penalty system where every deduction — its size, its trigger, and its scientific justification — is published and auditable.
| Red flag | How it affects the score |
|---|---|
| Unnamed ingredients | "Meat meal", "animal fat", and "natural flavour" hide what your dog actually eats. Every unspecified ingredient triggers a documented transparency penalty. |
| High-risk additives | Preservatives and colourants with peer-reviewed safety concerns — BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin — carry some of the heaviest penalties in the rubric. |
| Filler-heavy formulation | When low-value carbohydrates crowd out animal protein, the nutritional-quality axis drops. We model ingredient order and inclusion thresholds. |
| Recall history | A brand with repeated regulatory recalls earns a manufacturing penalty that decays only as years of clean history accumulate. |
| Marketing over substance | "Holistic", "premium", and "human-grade" have no regulatory definition. Our score ignores label marketing entirely — only the deck and the data count. |
| Nutrient adequacy gaps | Products that fail to substantiate AAFCO or NRC adequacy for their stated life stage are flagged and capped — no exceptions. |
Built on transparency, not marketing budgets
Every BiteRated score is reproducible from public evidence. These are the principles the platform is built on — and not one of them bends for a brand's budget.
Why we are different
What makes BiteRated stand out
Most pet food ratings are opinions, sponsorships, or affiliate funnels. BiteRated is built on transparency you can verify line by line.
No brand pays for a score
Our revenue never comes from the companies we evaluate. No brand can buy, boost, or bury its rating — independence is the whole product.
Grounded in nutrition science
Every weight and threshold traces back to peer-reviewed canine nutrition research, AAFCO nutrient profiles, and NRC requirements.
Two-axis architecture
We separate nutritional quality from evidence confidence, so a score never overstates how much we actually know about a product.
Openly documented rubric
Every penalty, bonus, and cutoff in the scoring rubric is written down and open for anyone to inspect and challenge at any time.
Citation-backed results
Each score links straight to the studies and regulatory standards behind it, so you can follow the evidence yourself.
One consistent standard
Every product runs through the exact same methodology, whatever the brand. No favorites, no exceptions, no marketing spin.
Why trust BiteRated
Independence is the whole point
The pet food industry is full of marketing claims. BiteRated exists to replace them with evidence.
“Every number on this platform has to survive a simple test: could we defend it with published research? If it can't, it doesn't ship.”
- No pay-for-score
- Brands cannot pay to improve, suppress, or fast-track a score. Our revenue never comes from the companies we evaluate.
- Citation-backed
- Every claim traces back to peer-reviewed canine nutrition research, AAFCO nutrient profiles, or NRC requirements.
- Openly documented
- Every weight, threshold, and penalty in the rubric is written down and open for inspection by anyone, at any time.
- Evidence confidence
- A separate confidence axis tells you how complete the underlying data is, so a score never overstates what we know.
Your dog can't read an ingredient label. We can.
BiteRated is almost here. Leave your email and you'll be first to browse transparent, science-backed scores the day the database opens — always free, and never swayed by a brand's budget.