USDA FoodData Central Food Item

JSON Schema for a food item record from the USDA FoodData Central API.

Federal-GovernmentAgricultureFood SafetyNutritionOpen DataResearch

Properties

Name Type Description
fdcId integer Unique FoodData Central identifier
description string Food description/name
dataType string The type of food data record
publishedDate string Date the food was published in FDC
foodCategory stringnull USDA food category
brandOwner stringnull Brand owner (Branded Foods only)
brandName stringnull Brand name (Branded Foods only)
ingredients stringnull Ingredient list (Branded Foods only)
servingSize numbernull Standard serving size
servingSizeUnit stringnull Unit for serving size (g, ml, etc.)
foodNutrients array Nutritional composition per 100g
View JSON Schema on GitHub

JSON Schema

usda-ars-food-item-schema.json Raw ↑
{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "$id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/usda-agricultural-research-service-ars-/main/json-schema/usda-ars-food-item-schema.json",
  "title": "USDA FoodData Central Food Item",
  "description": "JSON Schema for a food item record from the USDA FoodData Central API.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "fdcId": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Unique FoodData Central identifier"
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Food description/name"
    },
    "dataType": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["Foundation", "Branded", "Survey (FNDDS)", "SR Legacy", "Experimental"],
      "description": "The type of food data record"
    },
    "publishedDate": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Date the food was published in FDC"
    },
    "foodCategory": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "USDA food category"
    },
    "brandOwner": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Brand owner (Branded Foods only)"
    },
    "brandName": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Brand name (Branded Foods only)"
    },
    "ingredients": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Ingredient list (Branded Foods only)"
    },
    "servingSize": {
      "type": ["number", "null"],
      "description": "Standard serving size"
    },
    "servingSizeUnit": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Unit for serving size (g, ml, etc.)"
    },
    "foodNutrients": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Nutritional composition per 100g",
      "items": {
        "$ref": "#/$defs/FoodNutrient"
      }
    }
  },
  "required": ["fdcId", "description", "dataType"],
  "$defs": {
    "FoodNutrient": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Individual nutrient measurement",
      "properties": {
        "nutrientId": {
          "type": "integer",
          "description": "USDA nutrient ID"
        },
        "nutrientName": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Nutrient name"
        },
        "nutrientNumber": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "USDA nutrient number"
        },
        "unitName": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Unit of measurement (g, mg, kcal, IU, etc.)"
        },
        "value": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Amount per 100g of food"
        }
      },
      "required": ["nutrientId", "nutrientName", "value"]
    }
  }
}

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