How FAT Reads
FAT runs every label through the same three-step analysis. The result is a disclosure count — how many of the 16 transparency categories the label addresses — with a verification label on every disclosed claim. A count, not a grade.
What is disclosed?
For each of the 16 transparency categories, FAT marks the label Known (clearly disclosed), Partial (vague), or Missing (not addressed).
How credible is the disclosure?
Every Known disclosure is rated on a four-tier credibility scale: Third-party audited, USDA-reviewed, Producer-affidavit, or Unverified marketing.
Step 2 — The Four Credibility Tiers
Independent on-farm audit (USDA Organic, Certified Humane, AWA, GAP, MSC, ASC, BAP). The strongest backing a claim can have.
USDA program with audit teeth — Process Verified, USDA grade marks, FSIS catfish inspection. Government-backed, no independent audit.
FSIS-approved label language; producer affidavit only — no on-farm audit.
Printed with no third-party audit and no government label-language approval.
The FAT Disclosure Card
Every reading returns one card that leads with a plain count — how many of the 16 transparency categories the label discloses — shown as a meter, not a letter grade and not a red/amber/green verdict on the food. The card states the federal baseline every product already meets, names the categories the label is silent on, and shows a verification tier for each disclosure. A count, not a grade: FAT rates what the label discloses and how credibly it is backed — never the quality, safety, or taste of the food.
Behind the card, FAT maintains an internal weighting used to order and emphasize disclosures in producer-facing tools. None of that arithmetic appears on the shopper’s card — the card always leads with the plain count.
Full methodology at /how-fat-scores-labels/ · learn-how-to-read-meat-labels