Accuracy Disclaimer
Effective: February 11, 2026
The short version: Sift gives you useful estimates, not lab results. Everything is approximate. If something affects your health or safety, verify with the restaurant.
OCR limitations
OCR converts a photo of a menu into text. It's imperfect. Poor lighting, camera angle, glare, unusual fonts, handwriting, and low resolution all reduce accuracy. Items may be misread, skipped, or merged. Non-English text and decorative formatting may not parse correctly.
Nutrition estimation limitations
Calorie, protein, carb, and fat estimates come from heuristic models based on dish names and descriptions — not from the restaurant. Portion sizes, cooking methods, sauces, oils, and sides can change actual nutrition significantly. Complex dishes, chef specials, and off-menu items are less reliable. Chain restaurant published data is more accurate but may still differ from what's actually served. Treat all estimates as rough approximations.
Allergen detection limitations
Allergen flags are heuristic guesses from dish names and descriptions, not verified recipes. Sift cannot detect cross-contamination, shared equipment, trace ingredients, or hidden allergens (butter in a sauce, flour as a thickener, nuts in a garnish).
If you have a food allergy or any condition where consuming a specific ingredient could harm you, verify with the restaurant directly. Do not rely on Sift for allergy safety.
Scoring limitations
Dish scores are calculated from estimated data that may itself be inaccurate. A high score doesn't guarantee a dish is healthy, safe, or right for you. Scores are relative rankings within a single scan, not absolute nutritional assessments. The model can't account for factors it doesn't know about — medical conditions, drug interactions, etc.
Menu freshness
Menus change constantly. Sift's restaurant database is updated periodically but may not reflect what's currently available. Always check with the restaurant.
Bottom line
Sift is a helpful starting point, not a definitive source. All estimates are approximate. All allergen flags are best-effort. Verify anything that affects your health.