- FoodData Central (FDC)
- SR Legacy
- Foundation Foods
- Branded Foods
- Brand owner
- UPC / GTIN
- Per 100 grams
- Serving / reference portion
- Macronutrients
- Energy (calories)
- Vitamin A (RAE) and micrograms
- Lab-measured vs. manufacturer-reported
- Not dietary advice
- FoodData Central (FDC)
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's food composition database. It is public domain (CC0). This site uses its SR Legacy and Foundation Foods datasets (basic and whole foods) plus the Branded Foods dataset (packaged supermarket products with manufacturer labels).
- SR Legacy
- The Standard Reference Legacy dataset — about 7,800 foods (chicken breast, brown rice, cheddar, an apple) with values compiled over decades from laboratory analysis and the published literature.
- Foundation Foods
- A newer USDA dataset with fewer foods but more detail and metadata, from recent laboratory analyses. This site includes both SR Legacy and Foundation entries.
- Branded Foods
- USDA's dataset of packaged supermarket products, with nutrition facts and ingredient lists supplied by the manufacturer or distributor from the product label. Values are as declared, not independently lab-tested. Each product carries its brand owner and UPC/GTIN code; browse them from the Brands page.
- Brand owner
- The company that owns the brand under which a packaged product is sold, as recorded in USDA's Branded Foods data. A brand page on this site groups every product filed under one brand owner.
- UPC / GTIN
- The barcode number identifying a specific packaged product (Universal Product Code / Global Trade Item Number). Shown on branded product pages so you can match a page to the exact package.
- Per 100 grams
- The standard basis USDA uses to report nutrient amounts, so any two foods can be compared on the same footing. Every nutrient table here shows the per-100-g value.
- Serving / reference portion
- A typical amount of the food, in grams, from USDA's portion data. The per-serving column scales the per-100-g values to that portion. It is a reference size, not a dietary recommendation.
- Macronutrients
- Protein, fat and carbohydrate — the nutrients that provide energy. Carbohydrate on this site is "by difference" (total minus water, protein, fat and ash), the USDA method; dietary fiber and total sugars are shown as components of it.
- Energy (calories)
- The kilocalories in 100 g of the food, as reported by USDA. "Calories" in everyday use means kilocalories.
- Vitamin A (RAE) and micrograms
- Vitamin A is reported in micrograms of Retinol Activity Equivalents (RAE), which accounts for how efficiently the body converts different forms. Several vitamins and minerals are reported in micrograms (µg) or milligrams (mg).
- Lab-measured vs. manufacturer-reported
- SR Legacy and Foundation values are laboratory measurements. Branded packaged-food values are supplied by manufacturers from the label and are not independently tested — treat small differences between branded products with caution.
- Not dietary advice
- FoodFactsUSA reports what a food contains. It does not say whether a food is good or bad for you, or how much to eat. For guidance, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian.
More on sources on the About the Data page and the FAQ.