# USDA FoodData Central Nutrition Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper`) Actor

Scrape USDA FoodData Central nutrition data via search API or by food type. Returns full nutrient panels (140+ nutrients), serving sizes, GTIN/UPC codes, ingredients, and household portions for 2M+ foods across Branded, Foundation, SR Legacy, FNDDS, and Survey databases.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## USDA FoodData Central Nutrition Scraper

Extract complete nutrition data from the USDA FoodData Central database — the official US government source for food composition data. Covers 2M+ foods across the Branded, Foundation, SR Legacy, FNDDS, and Survey databases, with full nutrient panels (140+ nutrients per food), GTIN/UPC barcodes, ingredient lists, serving sizes, and household portion data.

### What you get

Each record contains:

- **fdc_id** — USDA FDC unique identifier
- **description** — Food name / product name
- **data_type** — Source database (Branded, Foundation, SR Legacy, Survey_FNDDS, Experimental)
- **brand_owner** / **brand_name** — Brand information for commercial products
- **gtin_upc** — GTIN or UPC barcode for retail product matching
- **ingredients** — Full ingredients list as printed on the label
- **serving_size** / **serving_size_unit** — Serving size with unit
- **food_category** — USDA food category
- **market_country** — Country where the product is marketed
- **published_date** — When the food record was published in FDC
- **nutrients** — JSON array of all nutrients: `[{name, amount, unit, derivation}]` — includes calories, macros (protein, fat, carbs, fiber, sugars), all vitamins, all minerals, amino acids, and fatty acid breakdown
- **portions** — JSON array of household measures: `[{modifier, gramWeight}]`
- **food_attributes** — JSON array of additional food attributes

### Modes

#### Search mode (default)
Search for foods by keyword across all or a specific USDA database.

```json
{
  "query": "cheddar cheese",
  "dataType": "Branded",
  "maxItems": 100
}
````

#### Direct lookup mode

Fetch specific foods by their FDC ID for full detail data.

```json
{
  "fdcIds": ["454004", "747448", "321358"],
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

### Input options

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `query` | string | Search keyword (e.g. "apple", "whole wheat bread"). Leave blank for default Foundation search. |
| `dataType` | string | Filter to one database: `Branded`, `Foundation`, `SR Legacy`, `Survey_FNDDS`, or `Experimental`. |
| `fdcIds` | string\[] | List of FDC IDs for direct lookup. When provided, overrides query and dataType. |
| `apiKey` | string | Your own api.data.gov API key (1,000 req/hr). Leave blank to use the built-in key. |
| `maxItems` | integer | Maximum number of food records to return. |

### API key

This actor uses the USDA FoodData Central API via api.data.gov. A free API key is pre-configured for seamless operation. For very large runs (1,000+ requests per hour), provide your own free key from [api.data.gov/signup](https://api.data.gov/signup/).

### Use cases

- **Nutrition apps** — Enrich recipe databases with verified USDA nutritional data
- **Retail product enrichment** — Join GTIN/UPC barcodes with full nutrient panels
- **Food science research** — Bulk extraction of Foundation or SR Legacy reference data
- **LLM grounding** — Build a nutrition knowledge base for AI applications
- **Diet / health apps** — Power macro tracking with government-verified data
- **Food database deduplication** — Match commercial products across Branded database

### Data sources

All data is sourced directly from [USDA FoodData Central](https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/) via the official public API. FDC is the US government's integrated food composition database, maintained by the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

### Limits

- The search API returns up to 2M+ Branded foods, 7,000+ Foundation foods, 260,000+ SR Legacy entries, 9,000+ FNDDS entries
- Rate limit: 1,000 requests/hour with a registered key; 30/hour on DEMO\_KEY
- Maximum page size: 200 foods per API call

# Actor input Schema

## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`):

Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler.

## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`):

Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements.

## `sp_contact` (type: `string`):

Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you.

## `query` (type: `string`):

Food search keyword (e.g. "apple", "cheddar cheese", "whole wheat bread"). Searches across all food types. Leave blank to browse by dataType instead.

## `dataType` (type: `string`):

Limit results to a specific USDA database: Branded (commercial packaged foods), Foundation (basic foods), SR Legacy (USDA Standard Reference), Survey\_FNDDS (dietary survey), or Experimental. Leave blank to search all types.

## `fdcIds` (type: `array`):

Optional list of specific FDC IDs to fetch directly (e.g. \["454004", "747448"]). When provided, query and dataType are ignored and the actor fetches each food by ID with full nutrient panel detail.

## `apiKey` (type: `string`):

Your own api.data.gov API key for higher rate limits (1000 req/hr vs 30/hr on DEMO\_KEY). Get a free key at https://api.data.gov/signup/. Leave blank to use the built-in OrbtTop key.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of food records to return (each record = 1 PPE credit).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "query": "apple",
  "fdcIds": [],
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "query": "apple",
    "dataType": "",
    "fdcIds": [],
    "apiKey": "",
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "query": "apple",
    "dataType": "",
    "fdcIds": [],
    "apiKey": "",
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "query": "apple",
  "dataType": "",
  "fdcIds": [],
  "apiKey": "",
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call jungle_synthesizer/usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jungle_synthesizer/usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "USDA FoodData Central Nutrition Scraper",
        "description": "Scrape USDA FoodData Central nutrition data via search API or by food type. Returns full nutrient panels (140+ nutrients), serving sizes, GTIN/UPC codes, ingredients, and household portions for 2M+ foods across Branded, Foundation, SR Legacy, FNDDS, and Survey databases.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "8uggyX6AVWi7Ac1Uz"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-jungle_synthesizer-usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-jungle_synthesizer-usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-jungle_synthesizer-usda-fooddata-central-nutrition-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "required": [
                    "maxItems"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "sp_intended_usage": {
                        "title": "What is the intended usage of this data?",
                        "minLength": 1,
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler."
                    },
                    "sp_improvement_suggestions": {
                        "title": "How can we improve this crawler for you?",
                        "minLength": 1,
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements."
                    },
                    "sp_contact": {
                        "title": "Contact Email",
                        "minLength": 1,
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you."
                    },
                    "query": {
                        "title": "Search Query",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Food search keyword (e.g. \"apple\", \"cheddar cheese\", \"whole wheat bread\"). Searches across all food types. Leave blank to browse by dataType instead."
                    },
                    "dataType": {
                        "title": "Data Type Filter",
                        "enum": [
                            "",
                            "Branded",
                            "Foundation",
                            "SR Legacy",
                            "Survey_FNDDS",
                            "Experimental"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Limit results to a specific USDA database: Branded (commercial packaged foods), Foundation (basic foods), SR Legacy (USDA Standard Reference), Survey_FNDDS (dietary survey), or Experimental. Leave blank to search all types."
                    },
                    "fdcIds": {
                        "title": "FDC IDs (Direct Lookup)",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Optional list of specific FDC IDs to fetch directly (e.g. [\"454004\", \"747448\"]). When provided, query and dataType are ignored and the actor fetches each food by ID with full nutrient panel detail.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "apiKey": {
                        "title": "API Key (Optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Your own api.data.gov API key for higher rate limits (1000 req/hr vs 30/hr on DEMO_KEY). Get a free key at https://api.data.gov/signup/. Leave blank to use the built-in OrbtTop key."
                    },
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Max Items",
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum number of food records to return (each record = 1 PPE credit).",
                        "default": 100
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```