Every point, explained.

The Meal Deal Score combines nutrition fit, value, your preferences and verification confidence. It never includes an invented taste rating.

The V1 formula

Score = 0.40 × nutrition + 0.30 × value + 0.20 × preference + 0.10 × freshness.

Each component is between 0 and 100. Cards round only the final displayed score; sorting uses the unrounded value.

40% — nutrition fit

• Highest protein: total protein ÷ 60g × 100, capped at 100.
• Lowest calories: (900 − total kcal) ÷ 9, clamped between 0 and 100. This is a ranking tool, not a recommendation to minimise food intake.
• All other goals: a balance heuristic: 40 × min(protein ÷ 25g, 1) + 30 × min(fibre ÷ 8g, 1) + 15 × (1 − min(salt ÷ 3g, 1)) + 15 × (1 − min(saturates ÷ 10g, 1)).

These are transparent product-design reference values, not official dietary targets. The balance score does not assess every nutrient or your individual needs. Carbs, fat, sugar, fibre, saturates and salt are shown in the expanded result.

30% — value

Saving ÷ regular-price total × 100, clamped to 0–100. Saving is the total regular price of the three items minus the meal-deal price. Prices are stored in whole pence to avoid currency rounding errors.

20% — user preference match

All selected preferences are hard filters, so every displayed result receives 100 for this component (20 weighted points). Vegan and vegetarian goals apply their dietary filters automatically. No caffeine excludes items with declared caffeine sources. This is an ingredient check, not a laboratory guarantee.

10% — freshness / verification confidence

All three items must have valid, non-future verification dates and non-sample sources. Otherwise this component is zero. For verified combinations, use the oldest item date: max(0, 100 × (1 − age in days ÷ 30)). Data checked today earns 100; data 30 days old earns zero. These points measure recency of an online check, not certainty of local availability.

Last verified means checked against public online information, not visited in store. Dates are actual review dates. Missing fibre contributes no fibre points, giving a conservative lower-bound balance score; the table shows “Not declared”, not zero. Values declared as less than a threshold use that threshold conservatively, with a note.

Score versus sorting

Highest protein sorts by total protein descending; lowest calories by calories ascending; best value by cash saving descending. The score breaks ties. Healthy balance, vegetarian and vegan sort by the total score. Stable product IDs break any remaining ties.

What gets compared?

One active, eligible main + one snack + one drink from the same retailer. Dietary filters apply to each item. Calorie and protein limits apply to the combined packs. Maximum calories is inclusive in the builder; “under 500” and “under 600” guide pages use 499 and 599 kcal respectively for the whole-number energy values in this catalogue.