How we rate and review

The formula

What the Sherpa Score blends

The score out of 10 blends four things — and nothing else:

• Opaque supplied quality tier (60%). A quality-tier value carried in the research feed. The feed does not expose the evidence or criteria behind that label, so it is not independently reproducible evidence of safety, effectiveness, quality or credibility.
• Supplied regulator and certification fields (20%). Whether a regulator label is present and how many certification names the catalogue record contains. Their presence does not prove approval or current certification.
• Supplied buyer terms (15%). Money-back-window, shipping and return-term fields in the catalogue record. Read the current conditions and exclusions before buying.
• Record completeness and date (5%). How complete and recent the supplied record is. The feed date is not editorial verification.

The formula can be repeated from the supplied fields, but its largest input is an upstream quality tier whose supporting evidence and criteria are not present in the feed. A high score therefore must not be read as an independent product review, clinical verdict, approval, certification check or proof of current terms.

Fields we expose

What the catalogue shows consistently

• Regulator label present. Whether the catalogue record names a regulator (FDA / MHRA / EFSA). It is context, never a quality, approval or endorsement claim; verify the exact product and business with the authority.
• Certification fields. Certification names supplied in the catalogue record. Verify the exact product, facility and current status in the certifier’s official directory before relying on them.
• Product form & access fields. Supplied form, prescription and online-consult fields. A missing prescription value is grouped with records not marked prescription in the filter; none of these fields establish suitability or lawful availability.
• Subscription fields. Whether the catalogue marks a subscription and a discount. The feed does not consistently provide cancellation, renewal, consent or refund conditions; read the seller’s live terms.
• No disease-cure claims. We describe products in structure/function terms only and never claim anything treats, cures or prevents a disease.

Accuracy

What a catalogue date does — and does not — mean

Commercial cards are populated from the site's existing feed: labels, regulator and certification names, product form and subscription fields. The feed does not provide consistent field-level source links or access dates, and the opaque quality tier does not carry its underlying evidence. A card date is the date stored on that record, not independent verification that the product, certification or term is current. Check material claims against the seller, regulator and certifier before relying on them. Guides separately show editorial update dates and visible sources.

Certification claims should be checked against the certifier's own register, such as NSF and USP. For regulatory context we reference the FDA, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements and FTC — and our full editorial & health-claims standards.

Who reviews

The VitalSherpa editorial desk

Reviews and guides are produced and maintained by the VitalSherpa editorial desk. We model it as an honest collective editorial voice rather than a fabricated named expert. No qualified reviewer is currently registered. Sensitive guides show “Not clinician-reviewed” until an actual clinician or pharmacist reviews them and can be named.

AI & human review

How we use AI

We use AI tools to help draft and structure our guides so we can cover more ground, faster. AI output is not evidence, and it does not replace a cited official source or qualified clinical review. The Sherpa Score is computed by the published formula, not generated by AI. A real specialist appears in a guide byline only after that person has actually reviewed it; otherwise the page states its source-check and clinical-review status.

Corrections

Spotted a mistake? Tell us

If a regulator, certification or product detail is out of date or wrong, email [email protected]. We assess the report and correct confirmed errors. Editorial pages receive a new update date when their published guidance changes; an upstream record date changes only when the feed changes.