By Tolga Erdogus, Chief Technology Officer at WISEcode

At WISEcode, our mission is to turn the chaos of food data into clarity. Behind every Code™ we publish is a technical foundation built for scale, transparency, and reproducibility.

Why Codes Matter

Food data is massive, messy, and often contradictory. We’ve unified 730,000+ foods and more than 10 billion data points into a single ontology. But raw data alone is not enough. What matters is how data is interpreted and how those interpretations can be tested, compared, and improved.

That’s where Codes™ come in.

A Code is a structured, algorithmic lens on food. It can measure processing, nutrient quality, ingredient risk, or health outcomes. Every Code outputs in JSON - machine-readable, reproducible, and ready to integrate into applications, research, or consumer tools.

Codes are not static. They live in the Code Exchange™, our global library of food intelligence. Scientists, developers, institutions, and consumers can use them directly or build their own through Code BuilderTM.

Everyone is a Coder

Code Builder™ takes the workflow of an expert data scientist and compresses it into minutes:

Idea → AI Assistance → Test Set → JSON → Publish.

1. Idea — Define your hypothesis (e.g., “What counts as ultra-processed food?”).

2. AI Assistance — Leverage WISEcode’s AI tools to structure your logic.

3. Test Set — Validate against our food database at scale.

4. JSON Output — Structured, shareable, reproducible.

5. Publish — Release to the Code Exchange, where it can be used by the entire world.

This pipeline makes food intelligence not only transparent but democratized.

The UPF Code Hack: A Technical First

The UPF Code Hack is the first large-scale demonstration of this system. Today, regulators and institutions are still debating what “ultra-processed food” means. WISEcode has already operationalized it. Our UPF Code™ processes 730,000 foods and classifies them instantly, free to consumers.

Now we are challenging the world: can anyone build a better Code?

We’ve structured the Hack so that any submission must:

• Run reproducibly against our food database.

• Generate a JSON schema of decision logic.

• Deliver consistent, testable outputs.

• Publish into the Code Exchange for global use.

The prize is $200,000. But more importantly, the winning Code becomes a public utility: powering a free UPF App that we will release as WISEcode’s gift to RFK Jr., MAHA, and the world.

The Future of FoodTechAI™

The UPF Code Hack is not just about one definition. It’s about proving the architecture. It shows that anyone can move from idea to functioning Code in minutes, and that those Codes can live in a shared, open marketplace.

This is how food transparency scales:

• Data you can trust.

• AI tools that empower.

• Codes that anyone can build, test, and share.

The future of food truth is not argued or debated. It is coded.

Everyone is a coder.

[ Learn more about the UPF Code Hack ]