Source: The WISEcode Standard v1.0, Sections 5.2 and 5.3.
Why borderline guidance exists
Most ingredients map cleanly onto one of the four Processing Levels. A minority sit between two. The Standard publishes explicit guidance for these cases so that the same ingredient is scored the same way every time.
Industrial fermentation
Where industrial fermentation produces an ingredient closely resembling a traditional fermented product, it is usually assigned Level 1. Scale of manufacture alone does not raise the level.
Protein concentrates and isolates
Where the process is mainly physical fractionation, the ingredient is assigned Level 2. Where it has been chemically modified or heavily texturised, it moves to Level 3.
Novel additives with incomplete safety data
These default to Level 3 pending review, and may be escalated to Level 4 and added to the Unique Ingredients of Concern list if the evidence supports it. Absence of evidence is not treated as evidence of safety.
The tie-breaker rule
Where a scorer is genuinely unsure between two levels, the Standard requires the more processed level to be chosen unless a written justification is recorded. This is why a novel or ambiguously named ingredient may score higher than you expect.
If you disagree with a call
Submit the canonical ingredient name, the manufacturing route and any safety documentation through a support request. Borderline assignments are reviewable, and new ingredient types are added to the master rationale database once reviewed.
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