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FoodData Central

USDA’s comprehensive source of food composition data with multiple distinct data types

Foundation Foods

Analytical data/metadata on commodity and minimally processed food samples.

Source: USDA

Updates: Twice annually - April & October

SR Legacy

Historical data derived from analyses, calculations, and published literature.

Source: USDA

Updates: Final update was in 2018

FNDDS

Data applied to analyze foods/beverages reported in What We Eat in America, NHANES.

Source: USDA Foundation Foods & SR Legacy

Updates: Every 2 years

Experimental Foods

Data from foods published in peer-reviewed journals in collaboration with USDA.

Source: Researchers

Updates: Twice annually (if available)

Branded Foods

Label data collected through a public-private partnership.

Source: Commercial food brands

Updates: Monthly

The USDA Global Branded Food Products Database (BFPDB) provided by the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) is updated monthly. BFPDB no longer receives new and/or updated food component information from Label Insight after November 16, 2023. All food component information provided by Label Insight prior to and on this date will remain in the USDA Global Branded Food Products Database.
New for April 2026
FNA Child Nutrition Database

The FNA Child Nutrition Database (CNDB) is now hosted on FDC! Find the CNDB and its related documents on the CNDB page.

Quick Start Videos

Getting Started on FoodData Central

View the About Us page for essential information about FoodData Central data types and how to use this system.

FoodData Central is managed by the Agricultural Research Service's Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center and hosted by the National Agricultural Library.

Licensing

USDA FoodData Central data are in the public domain and they are not copyrighted. They are published under CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)

No permission is needed for their use, but we request that users list FoodData Central as the source of the data, and when possible, notify us of the product that uses the data so we may better track how FDC is being used in the public domain. The suggested citation is:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center. FoodData Central. [Internet]. [cited (enter date)]. Available from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/.