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USDA

USDA FDC API

endpoints to retrieve nutrient data

Documentation Provider Profile APIs.io OpenAPI GitHub

USDA FDC API is one of 7 APIs that USDA publishes on the APIs.io network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification.

Tagged areas include FDC. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes an OpenAPI specification and API documentation.

This API exposes 9 operations across 6 paths, and defines 29 schemas. It is described by OpenAPI 3.0.0, at version 1.0.0.

Requests are made against a single base URL, https://api.nal.usda.gov/fdc.

9 operations 6 paths 29 schemas 6 GET3 POST

Metadata

The identity and technical contract details declared by the specification.

Specification
OpenAPI 3.0.0
API Version
1.0.0
Base URL
https://api.nal.usda.gov/fdc/v1
Authentication
API Key
Contact
Food Data Central Contact Form
License
Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal
Resource Areas
1

Authentication & Security 1

USDA FDC API declares 1 security scheme for authenticating requests. An API key is passed in the query as api_key (ApiKeyAuth). By default, every request must be authenticated.

Paths & Operations 9

Across 6 paths, the API surfaces 9 operations — 6 GET, 3 POST. Each is listed below with its method, path, parameters, and response codes.

FDC 9

endpoints to retrieve nutrient data

GET
/v1/food/{fdcId}
Fetches details for one food item by FDC ID
getFood 3 params → 200400404
GET
/v1/foods
Fetches details for multiple food items using input FDC IDs
getFoods 3 params → 200400
POST
/v1/foods
Fetches details for multiple food items using input FDC IDs
postFoods body → 200400
GET
/v1/foods/list
Returns a paged list of foods, in the 'abridged' format
getFoodsList 5 params → 200400
POST
/v1/foods/list
Returns a paged list of foods, in the 'abridged' format
postFoodsList body → 200400
GET
/v1/foods/search
Returns a list of foods that matched search (query) keywords
getFoodsSearch 7 params → 200400
POST
/v1/foods/search
Returns a list of foods that matched search (query) keywords
postFoodsSearch body → 200400
GET
/v1/json-spec
Returns this documentation in JSON format
getJsonSpec → default
GET
/v1/yaml-spec
Returns this documentation in JSON format
getYamlSpec → default

Schemas 29

The contract defines 29 schemas that model the data the API accepts and returns. The most detailed are BrandedFoodItem (18 properties), FoodUpdateLog (17 properties), FoundationFoodItem (15 properties), SearchResultFood (14 properties). Each schema is shown below with its type and property counts.

FoodCategory
object
3 properties
AbridgedFoodItem
object
9 properties 3 required
FoodNutrientDerivation
object
4 properties
InputFoodFoundation
object
applies to Foundation foods. Not all inputFoods will have all fields.
3 properties
FoodListCriteria
object
JSON for request body of 'list' POST request
5 properties
FoodAttribute
object
4 properties
Nutrient
object
a food nutrient
5 properties
InputFoodSurvey
object
applies to Survey (FNDDS). Not all inputFoods will have all fields.
13 properties
AbridgedFoodNutrient
object
6 properties 3 required
FoodsCriteria
object
JSON for request body of 'foods' POST request. Retrieves a list of food items by a list of up to 20 FDC IDs. Optional format and nutrients can be specified. In…
3 properties
FoodComponent
object
7 properties
SearchResultFood
object
14 properties 2 required
SearchResult
object
5 properties
FoodNutrientSource
object
3 properties
FoundationFoodItem
object
15 properties 3 required
FoodSearchCriteria
object
JSON for request body of 'search' POST request
7 properties
RetentionFactor
object
3 properties
SampleFoodItem
object
6 properties 3 required
SurveyFoodItem
object
12 properties 3 required
NutrientAnalysisDetails
object
8 properties
SRLegacyFoodItem
object
11 properties 3 required
MeasureUnit
object
3 properties
NutrientConversionFactors
object
2 properties
FoodUpdateLog
object
17 properties
NutrientAcquisitionDetails
object
4 properties
WweiaFoodCategory
object
2 properties
FoodPortion
object
9 properties
BrandedFoodItem
object
18 properties 3 required
FoodNutrient
object
10 properties 3 required

Specification

The full machine-readable OpenAPI contract behind this narrative.

Source

usda-fdc-api-openapi.yml Raw ↑

Other APIs USDA publishes across the network.

USDA NASS Quick Stats API
AE Profile APIs.io
USDA ERS ARMS Data API
AE Profile APIs.io
USDA AMS MyMarketNews MARS API
AE Profile APIs.io
USDA NASS CroplandCROS API
AE Profile APIs.io
USDA Forest Service Geospatial REST API
AE Profile APIs.io
USDA FSIS MPI Directory API
AE Profile APIs.io
#FDC
← Back to U APIs
API Details
ID
usda:usda-fdc-api
Base URL
https://api.nal.usda.gov/fdc/v1
Docs
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/api-guide/
Provider
USDA
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