{"name":"KnownGate Evidence Standard","version":"1.0","effective":"2026-08-30","next_review":"2027-02-28","canonical_url":"https://www.knowngate.com/standard","profile_url":"https://www.knowngate.com/standard/v1.json","license":"CC-BY-4.0","summary":"What counts as proof when ruling food against a stated premise, and what each kind of source can and cannot establish.","premise_kinds":[{"kind":"absence","asserts":"This must not be present. The nine major allergens, plus anything more specific you name; “cashew” is recorded as cashew, not blurred into “tree nut”.","must_be_covered":"Both halves: what is in it (the ingredient list) and how it is made (shared equipment, surfaces, practice). The list alone never produces a clear."},{"kind":"threshold","asserts":"This must stay under a number, per serving. Sodium, added sugar, saturated fat, potassium, protein floors.","must_be_covered":"The nutrition panel alone, cited and dated, with its serving size stated. How it is made does not apply; a number does not rub off a shared board."}],"verdicts":[{"name":"no_conflict_found","issued_when":"Both what is in it and how it is made were covered by a source that can say so, and nothing you named was found."},{"name":"conflict_found","issued_when":"A restriction is present on any source, including a claim. Presence is enough."},{"name":"ask_one_question","issued_when":"One half is covered. The other can be closed by a single question, and the question is named."},{"name":"couldnt_verify","issued_when":"The gap cannot be closed by any question available. Stated plainly, never softened."}],"source_ceilings":[{"source":"Manufacturer label","what_it_is":"A legal declaration by the party that made the food","ceiling":"no_conflict_found"},{"source":"Nutrition panel","what_it_is":"A mandatory declaration by the party that made the food, per stated serving","ceiling":"no_conflict_found"},{"source":"Venue statement","what_it_is":"Filed by a named person at the venue, dated and superseding","ceiling":"no_conflict_found"},{"source":"Structured menu field","what_it_is":"Item names in a machine-readable field the venue maintains","ceiling":"no_conflict_found"},{"source":"Q-PREP answer","what_it_is":"A dated answer attributed to a named person","ceiling":"no_conflict_found"},{"source":"Document","what_it_is":"A PDF or HTML menu we parsed","ceiling":"ask_one_question"},{"source":"Image","what_it_is":"A menu or label we transcribed from a photo","ceiling":"ask_one_question"},{"source":"Agent claim","what_it_is":"Ingredients or menu text supplied by an agent","ceiling":"ask_one_question"},{"source":"Spoken claim","what_it_is":"“It has no nuts”, unattributed or unrecorded","ceiling":"couldnt_verify"},{"source":"Nothing","what_it_is":"No source on either axis","ceiling":"couldnt_verify"}],"invariants":["Unknown counts as no. Absence of evidence is never evidence of absence, and no number of reassurances becomes a clear.","A claim can create a conflict but never a clear. Unverified presence is a flag; unverified absence is not a pass.","The both-halves rule applies to allergens only: what is in it and how it is made must both be covered before a clear. A number stands or falls on the panel alone.","Every verdict names the source it rested on and the date that source was read.","A verdict is a statement about a date, not a standing fact.","Changing the restriction set voids every verdict under the previous premise. Nothing carries over.","Verdicts issued under a superseded statement keep their original date. They are not re-cleared and not re-failed.","No payment changes a ruling. A paying publisher gets the same verdict as anyone else.","The word “safe” is not used anywhere in this system."],"never_counts":["A collective term that hides the source: “natural flavoring”, “spices”, “natural colors”.","Silence in prose. A menu that does not mention nuts is evidence of nothing.","A marketing claim: “non-dairy”, “plant-based”, “allergy friendly”.","An unanswered question, however likely the answer.","Any payment. Publishing evidence is free and a paying publisher gets the same ruling as anyone else.","A front-of-pack claim standing in for the panel. “Low sodium” on the label is a claim, not a measurement.","A panel with no stated serving basis. Per 100g and per serving are different answers to the same question."],"change_policy":{"versioning":"Semantic. MAJOR.MINOR, published at /standard and at /standard/v{major}.json.","breaking_change":"Anything that could change the verdict on an unchanged premise and unchanged evidence: adding or removing a verdict, moving a source kind's ceiling, or altering the both-halves rule. A breaking change takes a new MAJOR version.","non_breaking_change":"Wording that does not move a ruling, a new source kind at an existing ceiling, or a new question in the library. These take a new MINOR version.","announcement":"Every version is published here with its date and what changed, before it takes effect. There are no silent revisions and no per-customer terms.","effect_on_existing_verdicts":"None. A verdict carries the standard version it was issued under and keeps it. Old verdicts are never re-ruled by a new version; re-running the check is the only way to get a ruling under the current one.","proposals":"Proposals are welcome and are answered in public."},"changelog":[{"version":"1.0","date":"2026-08-30","change":"First published."}],"attestation":{"signed_verdicts":false,"note":"Verdicts are not cryptographically signed in v1.0. A saved record at /ck/{id} is the durable artifact: it carries the subject, the premise, the verdict, its source and read date, and the standard version it was issued under."}}