What are Unique Ingredients of Concern (UIC)?

Source: The WISEcode Standard v1.0, Sections 4.4, 5.5, and Schedule 1.

The short answer

Unique Ingredients of Concern — UICs — are specific ingredients that the WISEcode Standard treats as categorically problematic rather than just "more processed." They're the ingredients that automatically push a product into the Super-Ultra tier.

How the Standard defines them

Per Section 5.5, Unique Ingredients of Concern are ingredients with "significant safety concern" — examples given include carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, and serious regulatory concern. They appear on the Schedule 1 list in the Standard and are also classified as Level 4 in the ingredient processing system (Section 4.4).

Why they're treated differently

Most processing concerns are incremental: a slightly more refined oil is slightly worse than a less refined one. UICs are categorical: their presence reflects a known, established health concern, not a matter of degree. The Standard's response is to add a flat +16 SUPF penalty when any UIC appears, regardless of how clean the rest of the ingredient list looks.

Examples from the Standard

Schedule 1 includes (among many others):

Synthetic colors: Aluminum Lake FD&C Blue No. 1, Aluminum Lake FD&C Red No. 40, Aluminum Lake FD&C Yellow No. 5, Aluminum Lake FD&C Yellow No. 6, Azo dyes, Canthaxanthin.
Brominated and partially hydrogenated fats: Brominated Vegetable Oil, Brominated Soybean Oil, partially hydrogenated oils.
Preservatives associated with health concerns: BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole), BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), Butylparaben, Propylparaben.
Industrial dough conditioners: Azodicarbonamide (ADA), Bromated Flour.
Whiteners and opacifiers: Titanium Dioxide.
Aluminum-containing additives: Aluminum Calcium Silicate, Aluminum Phosphate, Aluminum Sulfate.

Many of these are banned, restricted, or heavily regulated in the USA, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.

How to know if a product contains a UIC

In the app: Products containing a UIC will be flagged as Super-Ultra, and the contributing ingredients are highlighted.
On the label: Look for synthetic colors with "FD&C" or "Lake" in the name, "brominated" or "partially hydrogenated" oils, BHA/BHT in the preservative line, "azodicarbonamide" in baked goods, or "titanium dioxide" in candy and gum.

Why this list can change

Per Section 9, the Standard is a living document. UICs can be added or removed as scientific evidence accumulates. Each change is recorded in a public Change Log with full citations.