United States Department of Agriculture

United States Department of Agriculture Foods API

Food search and retrieval operations

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OpenAPI Specification

openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: USDA ERS ARMS Data Foods API
  description: The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) Data API provides access to data on farm finances, production practices, and resource use for U.S. farms. Supports attribute-based querying of farm income, balance sheet, costs, and production data by year, state, and report type. An API key from api.data.gov is required.
  version: 1.0.0
  contact:
    name: USDA Economic Research Service
    url: https://www.ers.usda.gov/developer/
  license:
    name: Public Domain
    url: https://www.usa.gov/government-works
servers:
- url: https://api.ers.usda.gov/data/arms
  description: USDA ERS ARMS Data API
tags:
- name: Foods
  description: Food search and retrieval operations
paths:
  /foods/search:
    get:
      operationId: searchFoods
      summary: Search Foods
      description: Search for foods using keywords and filters. Returns paginated food items matching the query across all food data types.
      tags:
      - Foods
      parameters:
      - name: api_key
        in: query
        description: API key from api.data.gov
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        example: DEMO_KEY
      - name: query
        in: query
        description: Search terms to find foods
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        example: cheddar cheese
      - name: dataType
        in: query
        description: Filter by food data type
        required: false
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
            enum:
            - Foundation
            - SR Legacy
            - Branded
            - Survey (FNDDS)
            - Experimental
        style: form
        explode: false
      - name: pageSize
        in: query
        description: Number of results per page (max 200)
        required: false
        schema:
          type: integer
          default: 50
          maximum: 200
      - name: pageNumber
        in: query
        description: Page number for paginated results
        required: false
        schema:
          type: integer
          default: 1
      - name: sortBy
        in: query
        description: Field to sort results by
        required: false
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - dataType.keyword
          - lowercaseDescription.keyword
          - fdcId
          - publishedDate
      - name: sortOrder
        in: query
        description: Sort direction
        required: false
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - asc
          - desc
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Successful food search results
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SearchResult'
        '400':
          description: Invalid parameters
        '403':
          description: Invalid or missing API key
  /food/{fdcId}:
    get:
      operationId: getFoodById
      summary: Get Food By FDC ID
      description: Retrieve detailed nutrient data and food information for a specific food item identified by its FDC ID.
      tags:
      - Foods
      parameters:
      - name: fdcId
        in: path
        description: FoodData Central unique food identifier
        required: true
        schema:
          type: integer
        example: 454004
      - name: api_key
        in: query
        description: API key from api.data.gov
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        example: DEMO_KEY
      - name: format
        in: query
        description: Nutrient data format to return
        required: false
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - abridged
          - full
      - name: nutrients
        in: query
        description: Filter to specific nutrient IDs (up to 25)
        required: false
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: integer
        style: form
        explode: true
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Food item with nutrient data
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/FoodItem'
        '404':
          description: Food not found
  /foods:
    get:
      operationId: getFoodsByIds
      summary: Get Multiple Foods By FDC IDs
      description: Retrieve nutrient data for multiple food items by providing a list of FDC IDs.
      tags:
      - Foods
      parameters:
      - name: api_key
        in: query
        description: API key from api.data.gov
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        example: DEMO_KEY
      - name: fdcIds
        in: query
        description: Comma-separated list of FDC IDs (max 20)
        required: true
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: integer
        style: form
        explode: false
        example:
        - 454004
        - 534358
      - name: format
        in: query
        description: Nutrient data format to return
        required: false
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - abridged
          - full
      - name: nutrients
        in: query
        description: Filter to specific nutrient IDs
        required: false
        schema:
          type: array
          items:
            type: integer
        style: form
        explode: true
      responses:
        '200':
          description: List of food items with nutrient data
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/FoodItem'
components:
  schemas:
    SearchResultFood:
      type: object
      description: Food item from search results
      properties:
        fdcId:
          type: integer
          description: FoodData Central unique identifier
        description:
          type: string
          description: Food item description
        dataType:
          type: string
          description: Type of food data source
        brandOwner:
          type: string
          description: Brand owner (for branded foods)
        gtinUpc:
          type: string
          description: GTIN or UPC barcode
        publishedDate:
          type: string
          format: date
          description: Date food was published in FDC
        score:
          type: number
          description: Search relevance score
    FoodNutrient:
      type: object
      description: Nutrient value for a food item
      properties:
        nutrientId:
          type: integer
          description: Nutrient identifier
        nutrientName:
          type: string
          description: Name of the nutrient
        nutrientNumber:
          type: string
          description: USDA nutrient number
        unitName:
          type: string
          description: Unit of measure (g, mg, kcal, etc.)
        value:
          type: number
          description: Amount of nutrient per 100g of food
        derivationCode:
          type: string
          description: Method used to derive the nutrient value
    SearchResult:
      type: object
      description: Paginated food search results
      properties:
        totalHits:
          type: integer
          description: Total number of matching foods
        currentPage:
          type: integer
          description: Current page number
        totalPages:
          type: integer
          description: Total number of pages
        pageList:
          type: array
          items:
            type: integer
          description: List of page numbers
        foods:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/SearchResultFood'
    FoodItem:
      type: object
      description: Detailed food item with nutrient data
      properties:
        fdcId:
          type: integer
          description: FoodData Central unique identifier
        description:
          type: string
          description: Food item description
        dataType:
          type: string
          description: Type of food data source
        publicationDate:
          type: string
          format: date
          description: Publication date
        foodClass:
          type: string
          description: Food classification
        foodNutrients:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/FoodNutrient'
        foodAttributes:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
        inputFoods:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
        labelNutrients:
          type: object
          description: Nutrition facts label data (branded foods)
  securitySchemes:
    ApiKeyAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: query
      name: api_key