USDA FoodData Central

USDA FoodData Central

USDA FoodData Central provides nutrient composition data for 300K+ foods — nutrients, ingredients, branded products. Data types: Foundation (reference), SR Legacy (standard reference), Branded (GTIN/UPC), Survey (FNDDS). Key nutrients by ID: 1003=protein, 1004=fat, 1005=carbs, 1008=energy(kcal), 1093=sodium. Search by name, filter by data type. 1000 req/hour rate limit.

Data Model

• Foods — identified by fdcId. Each has description, data type, publication date, and nutrient list.
• Abridged food list — browse foods in compact form with basic identifiers and descriptions, paginated. Lighter than full search when browsing by data type or category.
• Nutrients — identified by nutrient ID (e.g. 1003=protein). Each has name, unit (g, mg, kcal), and amount per 100g.
• Branded foods — include brand owner, GTIN/UPC, ingredients list, serving size, and household serving.
• Foundation foods — reference amounts with scientific names, food categories, and nutrient sources.
• SR Legacy — USDA Standard Reference legacy dataset with NDB numbers.

Gotchas

• Rate limit — 1000 requests per hour with a registered credential.
• Nutrient IDs — use numeric IDs (1003, 1004, 1005, 1008) not names when filtering nutrients.
• Data types — filter with dataType parameter: Foundation, SR Legacy, Branded, Survey (FNDDS).
• Pagination — pageSize (max 200), pageNumber for paging through results.