🔔 USDA FNDDS Survey Food Master

Structured FNDDS (What We Eat In America) survey food master records from USDA FoodData Central, read directly from the official FDC full-CSV dump (survey_fndds_food.csv), streamed over HTTP Range. One record per survey food, carried source-native and verbatim.

Output is one survey_food_record row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one survey food record (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.02 per survey food record). Source: fdc.nal.usda.gov.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run SQAsa4dIQarrJO21E on build 0.1.5 (2026-09-19), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

food_code	start_date	end_date	survey_cycle	release_date	release_checksum
11000000	2021-01-01	2023-12-31	2021-2023	2026-04-30	6a860e3e-1cb35fb7

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: 1 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed) from 2026-04-30. billable=1

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. survey_food_record
• fdc_id (string/null) — e.g. 2705383
• food_code (string/null) — e.g. 11000000
• wweia_category_code (string/null) — e.g. 9602
• start_date (string/null) — e.g. 2021-01-01
• end_date (string/null) — e.g. 2023-12-31
• survey_cycle (string/null) — e.g. 2021-2023
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2705383/nutrients
• source (string/null) — e.g. fndds-survey-food-master
• release_date (string/null) — e.g. 2026-04-30
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-19T02:18:18Z
• release_checksum (string/null) — e.g. 6a860e3e-1cb35fb7
• license (string/null) — e.g. USDA FoodData Central — CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication). Cite: U.S. Departmen
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. USDA Agricultural Research Service — FoodData Central (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov)
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row

✅ What you get

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. survey_food_record
• fdc_id (string/null) — e.g. 2705383
• food_code (string/null) — e.g. 11000000
• wweia_category_code (string/null) — e.g. 9602
• start_date (string/null) — e.g. 2021-01-01
• end_date (string/null) — e.g. 2023-12-31
• survey_cycle (string/null) — e.g. 2021-2023
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2705383/nutrients
• source (string/null) — e.g. fndds-survey-food-master
• release_date (string/null) — e.g. 2026-04-30
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-19T01:38:21Z
• release_checksum (string/null) — e.g. 6a860e3e-1cb35fb7
• license (string/null) — e.g. USDA FoodData Central — CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication). Cite: U.S. Departmen
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. USDA Agricultural Research Service — FoodData Central (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov)
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row

What you get

One survey_food_record per row:

• fdc_id — the FDC id of the survey food
• food_code — the WWEIA food code
• wweia_category_code — the WWEIA category
• start_date, end_date — the effective survey-cycle window, carried verbatim
• survey_cycle — a derived convenience label (e.g. 2021-2023) computed from the start/end years — a derivation, not a source column
• source_url, release_date, release_checksum, license, attribution

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "fdcIds": [
    "2705383"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 10,
  "maxScanRows": 20000
}

The sample run charged exactly: 1 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 1 × $0.02 survey_food_record = $0.04 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "fdcIds": [
    "2705383"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 5,
  "maxScanRows": 20000
}

Caps the run at 5 rows — about $0.12 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 5 × $0.02).

3. A full-size run

{
  "fdcIds": [
    "2705383"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 2500,
  "maxScanRows": 20000
}

Up to 2500 rows (the schema default for maxRecords) — about $50.02 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 2500 × $0.02) if the source has that many.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run SQAsa4dIQarrJO21E, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_type": "survey_food_record",
  "fdc_id": "2705383",
  "food_code": "11000000",
  "wweia_category_code": "9602",
  "start_date": "2021-01-01",
  "end_date": "2023-12-31",
  "survey_cycle": "2021-2023",
  "source_url": "https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2705383/nutrients",
  "source": "fndds-survey-food-master",
  "release_date": "2026-04-30",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-19T02:18:18Z",
  "release_checksum": "6a860e3e-1cb35fb7",
  "license": "USDA FoodData Central — CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication). Cite: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central.",
  "attribution": "USDA Agricultural Research Service — FoodData Central (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov)"
}

🔧 How it works

Source. The actor reads fdc.nal.usda.gov — endpoints: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov, https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-datasets/FoodData_Central_csv_. Public pages and feeds only; nothing behind a login.

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. robots.txt is read first and a disallowed path is never fetched. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent. Pacing: CRAWL_DELAY=0.0.

Terminal states. A run ends NORMAL, CAPPED (your cap was reached), PARTIAL (something was withheld and the message says what), GENUINE_EMPTY (the source was read and truly had nothing in scope) or BLOCKED (the source refused or changed shape — the run FAILS loud and bills nothing). A zero-row run is never reported as a silent success.

Charging. Each survey food record is charged at the moment it is pushed (survey_food_record); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

🔧 How it works

Honesty — coverage and cadence, stated plainly

FNDDS survey foods are generic NHANES survey foods. This actor makes no claim of current commercial-product coverage — it is not a branded/retail product feed. FNDDS is a low-recurrence dataset: USDA releases it about every two years (aligned with NHANES cycles), so this master changes infrequently. That lower recurrence is stated here plainly, not dressed up. No health claim is made.

Filters

Supply at least one of fdcIds, foodCodes, wweiaCategoryCodes, or surveyCycle — the member is never emitted in full. maxRecords caps delivery (one charge per delivered record, hard cap 5000).

Robots & licence

fdc.nal.usda.gov/robots.txt is User-agent: * / Disallow: (nothing disallowed). USDA FoodData Central — CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication). Cite: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov).

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Survey food record (survey_food_record)	$0.02	$0.018	$0.016	$0.0134

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 1 survey food records: $0.02 start + 1 × $0.02 = $0.04
• 25 survey food records: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.02 = $0.52
• 2500 survey food records: $0.02 start + 2500 × $0.02 = $50.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 4096 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: 1 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed) from 2026-04-30. billable=1. maxRecords is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by fdc.nal.usda.gov. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, keeps to the source's robots rules (checked on every run), identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (fdc.nal.usda.gov) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input; BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee only.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to maxRecords (default 2500). Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other NexGen Watch actors actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers fdc.nal.usda.gov. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

Q: Are there rate limits?
A: The actor paces itself against the source (CRAWL_DELAY=0.0) and honours its robots rules; there is no per-buyer limit beyond your Apify plan's concurrency.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (maxRecords) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.

🔗 Related Actors

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• USDA FDC Sample Provenance Graph — The provenance / traceability graph behind USDA FoodData Central foods — how a sample food links to its sub-samples and to the market acquisition it…
• USDA FNDDS Recipe Ingredient Composition — Structured recipe composition records from USDA FoodData Central — which input foods compose each survey (FNDDS) or recipe (SR-legacy) food — read di…
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• 🏢 About NexGenData — NexGen Watch is NexGenData's fleet of more than 300 public data actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

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