OUR METHOD
Evidence before advice.
CFR links to official menus, nutrition and allergen materials, and manufacturer statements. We separate what a source explicitly says from what remains unknown, and we never imply safety.
How a guide or verdict is built
- 01
Collect
We pull official, first-party material: restaurant menus, nutrition and allergen pages, and manufacturer product/ingredient pages.
- 02
Quote, don't paraphrase
We retain the source's actual words as a quote. CFR's own observations are kept separate and clearly labelled as a CFR note.
- 03
Separate fact from inference
If a source names an ingredient or explicitly marks an item vegan, that is evidence. If it does not, the claim is ingredient-supported or unknown — not confirmed.
- 04
Update on change
Sources are monitored. Official-source changes are logged and require human review before a guide changes.
What the claim levels mean
- Source-confirmed The chain's or manufacturer's own material explicitly states the item is vegan.
- Ingredient-supported Official ingredient or allergen data supports it; the source does not label it vegan.
- No confirmed option Official material does not support a vegan-positive claim.
How we keep guides fresh — and where we can't
We track the official menu, ingredient and allergen pages each guide links to, and review them when they change. But some restaurant sites serve this data only through JavaScript or protect their files from automated reading, so we cannot watch them reliably. Usability is judged by whether the fetched page actually carries the dietary data — a large client-rendered page that loads empty is still un-watchable. Where a guide's sources are all un-watchable in that way, the guide says checked manually on the recorded date instead of claiming to monitor it — an unverifiable freshness claim is worse than an honest one. If you spot a menu change any of our guides hasn't caught yet, tell us from the guide page.
Glossary
What does "vegan" mean?
Vegan, as CFR uses the term, refers to products and dishes made without animal-derived ingredients and, for personal-care/similar products, without animal testing. A product or dish is only "source-confirmed" vegan when the relevant brand's own material says so; otherwise its ingredient list may make it "ingredient-supported," or it may be unknown.
What does "cruelty-free" mean?
Cruelty-free typically means a product is not tested on animals. It is not the same as vegan — a cruelty-free product can still contain animal-derived ingredients. CFR distinguishes these wherever it applies to a guide.
This is not an allergen or safety guarantee. Cross-contact and preparation vary by location, and products change without notice.