🔔 USDA FDC Nutrient Observation Matrix

One nutrient_observation per row of USDA FoodData Central's food_nutrient table — the analytical observation as USDA records it: amount, data_points, statistical min / max / median / loq, footnote, min_year_acquired, percent_daily_value — carried source-native together with the source's own derivation provenance (derivation_id).

Differentiation: this is the filtered, provenance-preserving slice of a ~27-million-row analytical table, not a re-computed nutrition panel. You supply food IDs and/or nutrient IDs; you get the exact observations USDA published, with their derivation code intact, and pay per delivered observation. The 1.8 GB food_nutrient.csv member is streamed out of the ZIP over HTTP range and never scanned unfiltered.

Output is one nutrient_observation row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one nutrient observation (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.02 per nutrient observation). 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.

Who buys this

Buyers usually search for FoodData Central or nutrition data.

• Analysts, researchers and journalists who need FoodData Central as clean rows.
• Risk, insurance and planning teams joining nutrition data to their own data.
• Data teams that want the official source without building a scraper.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run OnDMrLa0zO172lCk8 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):

id	fdc_id	nutrient_id	observation_id	release_date	release_checksum
13706927	1105904	1257	13706927	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7
13706930	1105904	1293	13706930	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7
13706926	1105904	1253	13706926	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7
13706921	1105904	1092	13706921	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7
13706916	1105904	1008	13706916	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7
13706920	1105904	1089	13706920	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7
13706925	1105904	1162	13706925	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7
13706928	1105904	1258	13706928	2026-04-30	6a860d85-1cb35fb7

The run finished with the status message: PARTIAL: delivered 18 records (PARTIAL: cap not reached within the 20000-row scan bound of food_nutrient.csv (delivered observations are complete and billed))

✅ 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. nutrient_observation
• id (string/null) — e.g. 13706927
• fdc_id (string/null) — e.g. 1105904
• nutrient_id (string/null) — e.g. 1257
• amount (string/null) — e.g. 0.0
• data_points (string/null) — null in every sample row
• derivation_id (string/null) — e.g. 71
• min (string/null) — null in every sample row
• max (string/null) — null in every sample row
• median (string/null) — null in every sample row
• loq (string/null) — null in every sample row
• footnote (string/null) — null in every sample row
• min_year_acquired (string/null) — null in every sample row
• percent_daily_value (string/null) — e.g. 0.0
• observation_id (string/null) — e.g. 13706927
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1105904/nutrients
• source (string/null) — e.g. usda-fdc-nutrient-observation-matrix
• release_date (string/null) — e.g. 2026-04-30
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-19T00:24:07Z
• release_checksum (string/null) — e.g. 6a860d85-1cb35fb7
• 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. nutrient_observation
• id (string/null) — e.g. 13706927
• fdc_id (string/null) — e.g. 1105904
• nutrient_id (string/null) — e.g. 1257
• amount (string/null) — e.g. 0.0
• data_points (string/null) — null in every sample row
• derivation_id (string/null) — e.g. 71
• min (string/null) — null in every sample row
• max (string/null) — null in every sample row
• median (string/null) — null in every sample row
• loq (string/null) — null in every sample row
• footnote (string/null) — null in every sample row
• min_year_acquired (string/null) — null in every sample row
• percent_daily_value (string/null) — e.g. 0.0
• observation_id (string/null) — e.g. 13706927
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1105904/nutrients
• source (string/null) — e.g. usda-fdc-nutrient-observation-matrix
• release_date (string/null) — e.g. 2026-04-30
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-18T23:35:56Z
• release_checksum (string/null) — e.g. 6a860d85-1cb35fb7
• 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

⚙️ Sample inputs

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

{
  "fdcIds": [
    "1105904"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 10,
  "maxScanRows": 20000
}

The sample run charged exactly: 1 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 18 × $0.02 nutrient_observation = $0.38 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed. If you leave maxRecords out, the run delivers at most 50 rows (the schema default); pass a number up to 2500 for a bigger export. An explicit value is always honoured up to that maximum.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "fdcIds": [
    "1105904"
  ],
  "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": [
    "1105904"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 2500,
  "maxScanRows": 20000
}

Up to 2500 rows — 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 OnDMrLa0zO172lCk8, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_type": "nutrient_observation",
  "id": "13706927",
  "fdc_id": "1105904",
  "nutrient_id": "1257",
  "amount": "0.0",
  "data_points": null,
  "derivation_id": "71",
  "min": null,
  "max": null,
  "median": null,
  "loq": null,
  "footnote": null,
  "min_year_acquired": null,
  "percent_daily_value": null,
  "observation_id": "13706927",
  "source_url": "https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1105904/nutrients",
  "source": "usda-fdc-nutrient-observation-matrix",
  "release_date": "2026-04-30",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-19T00:24:07Z",
  "release_checksum": "6a860d85-1cb35fb7",
  "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 nutrient observation is charged at the moment it is pushed (nutrient_observation); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

🔧 How it works

Source

The official USDA FoodData Central full-CSV dump only — https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-datasets/FoodData_Central_csv_<release>.zip (newest release auto-resolved; food_nutrient.csv member). robots.txt is User-agent: * / Disallow: (nothing disallowed). The FDC API and search routes are never touched. Release date + archive checksum (ETag) ride on every record.

Filters (mandatory — enforced in code)

fdcIds and/or nutrientIds. With neither, the actor raises a loud, unbilled Block — the 1.8 GB member is never scanned. Results are capped by maxRecords (default and max 2500) and bounded by maxScanRows over the streamed member (PARTIAL if the cap is not reached within the bound).

What it does NOT do

No calculated diet scores, no nutrient math, no interpretation. Every value is the source figure carried verbatim; the derivation_id tells you how USDA derived it. This actor makes no health or dietary determination.

Licence

USDA FoodData Central — CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication); the dumps add no new rights. Cite: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov).

Billing

Pay-per-event. nutrient_observation is charged once per delivered observation ($0.02), GOLD-floored −10 / −20 / −33% volume ladder. apify-actor-start ($0.02) is platform-reserved, never charged in code. A filter that matches nothing is a clean GENUINE_EMPTY — nothing billed.

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
Nutrient Observation (nutrient_observation)	$0.02	$0.018	$0.016	$0.0134

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 8 nutrient observations: $0.02 start + 8 × $0.02 = $0.18
• 25 nutrient observations: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.02 = $0.52
• 50 nutrient observations: $0.02 start + 50 × $0.02 = $1.02

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: PARTIAL: delivered 18 records (PARTIAL: cap not reached within the 20000-row scan bound of food_nutrient.csv (delivered observations are complete and billed)). 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 50). 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

• UK Licensed Sponsor Register (Workers) — Each record carries the organisation, town/city, county, licence type & rating, and immigration route from the newest official CSV, with the register…
• USDA Branded Food Product Master — One structured branded_food_record per branded product in USDA FoodData Central — GTIN/UPC, brand owner and name, serving size, market country, and p…
• USDA FDC Ingredient / Label Attribute Index — One food_attribute_record per row of USDA FoodData Central's food_attribute table — the heterogeneous per-food attribute values USDA records (an attr…
• USDA FDC Portion / Serving Weight Master — One food_portion_record per row of USDA FoodData Central's food_portion table — a food's serving/portion definition: portion ID, food FDC ID, serving…
• USDA FDC Product Update Ledger — One food_update_record per entry in USDA FoodData Central's own product update log — the FDC id, the product description, and the last_updated date,…
• USDA FNDDS Ingredient-Nutrient Matrix — One fndds_nutrient_record per row of USDA FoodData Central's fndds_ingredient_nutrient_value table — a single nutrient value for an FNDDS ingredient…
• 🏢 About NexGen Watch — NexGen Watch is a catalog 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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