How PQ Score Works

What PQ Score measures

Two foods can have identical macros but wildly different ingredient quality. A protein bar with whey and almonds is fundamentally different from one loaded with seed oils, maltodextrin, and artificial sweeteners, even if the carb count is the same.

PQ Score captures this difference by analyzing four dimensions:

Score tiers

How scoring works

1. Ingredient analysis. Every ingredient gets identified, classified, and scored on its own. Known problem ingredients, seed oils, artificial colors, trans fats, take a direct penalty.
2. Processing detection. We look at the whole product for ultra-processing markers. A long ingredient list, several emulsifiers, or industrial additives all cost points.
3. Macro verification. Net carbs, fat quality, and protein source get checked against keto-optimal ranges.
4. Confidence scoring. We tell you how confident we are in the score based on how complete the data is. A barcode scan with a full ingredient list gets the highest confidence.

A worked example

Take a real product: a Quest protein bar, ingredients as printed on the label: whey protein isolate, soluble corn fiber, almonds, erythritol, palm oil, natural flavors, sea salt, sucralose.

Most of that list scores well on its own: whey protein isolate, almonds, and erythritol are clean by ingredient-quality standards, and palm oil and sea salt are neutral. Two ingredients pull the score down hard: sucralose (an artificial sweetener) and soluble corn fiber (a highly processed additive) each score low individually. Because PQ Score weights toward the worst-scoring ingredients rather than a flat average, those two heavily processed additives outweigh the cleaner ones in the final number.

Result: PQ Score 41, Fair tier. Acceptable, but the label tells you exactly which two ingredients are doing the damage, the same way it would for any product you scan.

Data sources and incomplete data

Scores are computed from the ingredient list as printed on the label (barcode scan, photo, or manual entry) at the time you scan it. Formulations change, so a score reflects what was on the label CleanKeto read, not a permanent rating of the product. When the ingredient list is incomplete or a match is uncertain, the score carries a lower confidence indicator rather than a silently guessed number, so you know when it is worth double-checking the label yourself.

What PQ Score is not

PQ Score is not a food safety certification, not a medical or diagnostic assessment, and not an FDA or regulatory rating. It is not a promise about your individual health outcome, and on its own it says nothing about whether a food fits your specific body, goals, or medications, that is what the separate For You score is for (and even For You is not medical advice). PQ Score is CleanKeto's proprietary opinion of ingredient quality, computed the same documented way for every product, and disclosed as an opinion rather than a fact.

PQ Score vs. other keto trackers

Transparency

Every PQ Score shows exactly why it scored the way it did. No black boxes. You can see the individual ingredient penalties, processing deductions, and bonus points that make up the final score. If you disagree with a score, the breakdown tells you precisely what drove it.