Evidence first. Uncertainty intact.

FormulaWatch is a consumer interface over a versioned, evidence-backed history. The public page is quiet because the research record underneath it is not.

Observations are not assertions

An observation records what a source showed: an official ingredient list, a package photograph, a dated retailer page, or a brand statement. An assertion is FormulaWatch's interpretation of one or more observations, such as identifying a formula generation or verifying a transition.

Source observations are preserved. Assertions can be corrected as evidence improves.

An ingredient-list change is not automatically a reformulation

One physical formula generation can have different declarations because of market rules, shade pigments, “may contain” structures, legal naming, translation, or retailer formatting. FormulaWatch stores declarations beneath formula generations and distinguishes declaration-only changes from verified physical formula changes.

What verified means

A brand-confirmed change can be verified from an explicit manufacturer statement and enough evidence to identify the affected product and market. An unannounced formula change requires stronger independent corroboration: reliable previous and current declarations, a clear product lineage, and normally more than one source.

FormulaWatch does not publish confidence percentages. “Verified” is a reviewed evidence state, not a model score.

Markets, shades and packaging have separate histories

Formula, claims, packaging, commercial lifecycle, shade labels and market assortment can change independently. U.S. evidence is not silently compared with a European shade variant as if the two were consecutive states. Shade pigment-only differences do not create a global reformulation event.

Community Observations

Community experience can identify repeated patterns without proving chemistry or causality. A publishable FormulaWatch Community Observation initially requires at least eight genuinely independent first-hand reports across at least three source contexts and two source or platform types, followed by manual review. Crossposts count once, upvotes are not reports, and meaningful counterevidence remains visible.

Internal Community Signals do not appear publicly just because their automated threshold is met.

What “last checked” means

It is the date FormulaWatch last captured or reviewed the referenced evidence scope. It does not mean a brand has guaranteed the product unchanged since that date. The careful wording is “No declared formula change detected since…” rather than “Formula unchanged since…”

Corrections

Research interpretations can be corrected without deleting their history. Material changes retain the prior assertion, reason, date and supporting evidence in the audit record.