USDA Food Nutrition Scraper

Extract nutritional data from USDA FoodData Central, the United States Department of Agriculture's comprehensive food composition database. Search over 300,000 foods for calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and ingredients. Covers branded packaged foods, standard reference items, and foundation foods. Powered by the free USDA API — no proxy needed.

Disclaimer: This actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

What nutrition data can you extract?

This actor wraps the free USDA FoodData Central API to extract detailed nutritional information:

• Macronutrients — calories, protein, total fat, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar
• Micronutrients — sodium, cholesterol, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamins A and C
• Fat breakdown — saturated fat, trans fat
• Food details — brand owner, brand name, ingredients list, serving size, food category
• Data types — Branded (packaged foods), SR Legacy (standard reference), Foundation (enhanced profiles), Survey (FNDDS)

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
Food Search Term	string	Food to search for (e.g., "chicken breast", "greek yogurt")
Data Type	select	ALL, Branded, SR Legacy, Foundation, or Survey (FNDDS)
Max Results	integer	Maximum food items to return (1–1,000, default 50)
API Key	string	Free key from api.data.gov or DEMO_KEY (rate limited)

Output example

Each food record contains:

{
    "fdcId": 2038064,
    "description": "CHICKEN BREAST",
    "dataType": "Branded",
    "brandOwner": "Tyson Foods Inc.",
    "brandName": "TYSON",
    "ingredients": "BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST",
    "servingSize": 112.0,
    "servingSizeUnit": "g",
    "foodCategory": "Poultry",
    "calories": 110,
    "caloriesUnit": "KCAL",
    "protein": 23.0,
    "proteinUnit": "G",
    "totalFat": 2.5,
    "totalFatUnit": "G",
    "carbohydrates": 0.0,
    "carbohydratesUnit": "G",
    "fiber": 0.0,
    "fiberUnit": "G",
    "sodium": 210,
    "sodiumUnit": "MG",
    "source": "USDA FoodData Central",
    "sourceUrl": "https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2038064/nutrients"
}

How much does it cost to scrape USDA nutrition data?

This actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You pay per food item returned.

• $0.00005 per actor start (Apify default)
• Per-result charge based on the number of food items extracted
• No proxy costs — the USDA API is free and public

A typical search returns 50 food items at minimal cost. The DEMO_KEY allows 30 requests per hour which is sufficient for most searches.

Tip: Use specific search terms and data type filters to get the most relevant results. Register for a free API key at api.data.gov for higher rate limits.

Who uses USDA nutrition data?

• Fitness app developers — build calorie counters, macro trackers, and meal logging features
• Nutritionists and dietitians — research food composition for client meal plans
• Meal planning services — calculate nutritional totals for recipes and weekly meal plans
• Food manufacturers — compare nutritional profiles across product categories and competitors
• Health researchers — study dietary patterns, nutrient intake, and food composition trends
• Recipe platforms — auto-calculate nutrition facts for user-submitted recipes

Tips for best results

• Be specific with search terms — "boneless skinless chicken breast" returns more relevant results than just "chicken."
• Data types: Branded = commercial packaged products with brand names. SR Legacy = USDA standard reference (generic foods). Foundation = enhanced nutrient data with detailed analytical methods.
• DEMO_KEY allows 30 requests/hour, 50/day. For production use, get a free key from https://api.data.gov/signup/ — it takes 30 seconds and gives 1,000 requests/hour.
• Serving sizes vary by product. Normalize to 100g for cross-product comparisons.
• Nutrient values are per serving size as labeled by the manufacturer (Branded) or per 100g (SR Legacy/Foundation).

Integrations

Export your data as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Schedule runs to track product reformulations or new items. Use webhooks to update your nutrition database when new data is available.

This actor works as an MCP server — AI agents can discover and use it to access USDA nutrition data programmatically.