A detailed look at how Food or Trash scores every food on a 0–100 scale and the principles behind the ratings.
Food or Trash is built on a simple idea: the closer a food is to its natural, whole state, the better it is for you. This is not a fringe position. The 2025–2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, published at RealFood.gov, define real food as “whole or minimally processed and recognizable as food, prepared with few ingredients and without added sugars, industrial oils, artificial flavors, or preservatives.”
Our scoring system translates this principle into a number. Every food gets a score from 0 (ultra-processed, industrial product) to 100 (whole, single-ingredient, nutrient-dense food). The score reflects how closely an item aligns with the way humans have eaten for thousands of years.
Over 1,300 items have been hand-classified and scored by human review. Each item in the database includes a score, a category, and an explanation of why it scored the way it did. This is the most reliable tier — no AI involved, no automation, just direct assessment against whole food principles.
The database includes 1,159 real foods and 186 trash items across 13 categories. Items are scored based on: whether they are a single whole ingredient, how much processing they undergo, whether they contain seed oils or added sugars, and how long humans have been eating them.
When you search for something not in our curated database, an AI classifier evaluates it. The AI is prompted with the same whole food framework used to build the database. It classifies the item as whole food, combination, or processed, then generates a score and explanation.
AI classification is useful for covering the long tail of foods, branded products, and regional items that the curated database does not include. However, it is inherently less reliable than human-reviewed entries. AI-classified items are clearly marked so you know the source of the rating.
Combination foods — a salad, a stir-fry, a sandwich — are not single ingredients. Tier 3 breaks them down into individual components. Each component is scored independently (using Tier 1 or Tier 2), then a weighted composite score is calculated based on the relative proportion of each ingredient.
This means a salad with olive oil dressing scores differently from a salad with canola oil dressing. A burger with real cheese on a sourdough bun scores differently from one with processed cheese on a refined flour bun. The decomposition reveals exactly which ingredients are pulling the score up or down.
Foods that score 80–100 are whole, single-ingredient, and minimally processed. Examples: a fresh egg, a wild-caught salmon fillet, extra virgin olive oil, grass-fed butter, broccoli, sweet potato, liver, sardines, avocado, raw almonds.
These are foods that the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines explicitly recommend. RealFood.gov states: “Every meal must prioritize high-quality, nutrient-dense protein from both animal and plant sources, paired with healthy fats from whole foods such as eggs, seafood, meats, full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados.”
Foods that score 0–20 are ultra-processed products built on industrial ingredients. Examples: canola oil, margarine, soda, artificial sweeteners, processed cheese singles, most breakfast cereals, protein bars with seed oils, candy, fast food chicken nuggets.
These products typically contain seed oils, added sugars, artificial colours, preservatives, or other additives that the 2025–2030 guidelines specifically name as things to avoid. RealFood.gov identifies “foods containing artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and non-nutritive sweeteners” as highly processed products that are not real food.
Many foods fall in the 40–70 range. These are typically minimally processed foods (cheese, yogurt, sourdough bread, dark chocolate) or combination foods where some ingredients are whole and others are not. A homemade stew with real ingredients might score 75. The same stew from a can with added seed oils and preservatives might score 35.
The score is not a moral judgement. It is a signal: how close is this food to what humans have eaten for generations? The further from whole food, the lower the score. Use it as a guide, not a commandment.
Every item is evaluated against these factors, weighted by importance:
Whole food status
Is this a single, recognisable ingredient? Can it be found in nature? How many steps separate it from its raw state?
Processing level
Minimal processing (washing, cutting, fermenting) preserves nutritional value. Industrial processing (solvent extraction, bleaching, hydrogenation) degrades it. Traditional methods (butter churning, olive pressing) score higher than chemical processes.
Ingredient quality
Does the product contain seed oils, added sugars, artificial colours, artificial preservatives, or non-nutritive sweeteners? Each of these is flagged by the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines as something to avoid.
Ancestral precedent
How long have humans been eating this food? Foods with thousands of years of dietary history (eggs, olive oil, liver, fermented vegetables) are trusted. Foods invented in the 20th century through industrial chemistry (margarine, canola oil, high-fructose corn syrup) are not.
Food or Trash was built on whole food principles before the government caught up. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines, published at RealFood.gov, now officially recommend the same approach: eat real food, prioritise protein and healthy fats, avoid ultra-processed products, and eliminate added sugars. Our scoring system is fully aligned with these guidelines.
Read the guidelines at RealFood.gov →No scoring system is perfect. Food or Trash does not account for individual allergies, intolerances, medical conditions, or personal dietary requirements. It does not measure portion sizes, caloric needs, or micronutrient balance for specific individuals. It reflects one evidence-based perspective on food quality, not a complete nutritional assessment.
AI-classified items (Tier 2) may occasionally misclassify products, especially branded or regional items with unusual formulations. When in doubt, read the ingredient list yourself — our guide to reading food labels can help.
Food or Trash is an educational tool, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for personal dietary decisions. Guidelines referenced from RealFood.gov (2025–2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans).