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FoodData Central FNA Child Nutrition Database

FNA Child Nutrition Database

The Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) Child Nutrition Database (CNDB) is a required part of the nutrient analysis software approved by USDA's FNA for use in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

Current CNDB version is available to download in the table below.

The CNDB includes food product data collected for the following 19 nutrients and components: calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, potassium, iron, ash, total sugars, added sugars, and moisture.

The CNDB includes nutrient data from: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference - Legacy Release (SR – Legacy), USDA Standardized Recipes, and the Global Branded Food Products Database (manufactured products produced for K-12 school food service, including USDA Foods).

The manufacturers' data in the CNDB will be updated monthly on the same cycle as the Global Branded Food Products Database. Updates of the other data sources will occur as needed.

Structure and File Formats of the Child Nutrition Database

The CNDB consists of 6 tables:

  • Food Description Table (FDES)
  • Food Category Name Table (CTGNME)
  • GPC Category Name Table (GPCNME)
  • Weights Table (WGHT)
  • Nutrient Values Table (NUTVAL)
  • Nutrient Description Table (NUTDES)

The CNDB is available in Comma-Separated Values (CSV), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), MySQL, and Extensible Markup Language (XML) formats.

For MySQL, the zipped file contains one file for the entire CNDB. For the CSV, XML, and JSON file formats, there is one zipped file which includes six files, one for each table in the CNDB.

Please download the Release Notes, which includes the most recent updates and changes, and the Child Nutrition Database Documentation which explains the structure and fields in this database.

Food manufacturers interested in publishing their food/beverage product data to the Child Nutrition Database, please refer to the following resources for guidance:

Please contact cnpntab@usda.gov for additional information about the CNDB.

CNDB Downloads

CNDB downloads
DescriptionDateFormatZipped*Unzipped*
CN2026.099/17/2026CSV1.19 MB10.13 MB
JSON1.52 MB38.07 MB
SQL1.28 MB18.29 MB
XML1.67 MB63.91 MB
CN2026.09 Release Notes9/17/2026PDFN/A74.84 KB
Child Nutrition Database Documentation6/25/2026PDFN/A229.53 KB

* Listed measurements are actual byte sizes and may vary after download and extraction depending on your local operating system and disk format.

Historical Downloads

CNDB historical downloads
DescriptionDateFormatZipped*Unzipped*
CN2026.088/20/2026CSV1.18 MB9.84 MB
JSON1.52 MB37.75 MB
SQL1.28 MB17.99 MB
XML1.66 MB63.56 MB
CN2026.08 Release Notes8/20/2026PDFN/A74.58 KB
CN2026.077/23/2026CSV1.18 MB9.86 MB
JSON1.52 MB37.81 MB
SQL1.28 MB18.03 MB
XML1.66 MB63.66 MB
CN2026.07 Release Notes7/23/2026PDFN/A78.77 KB
CN2026.066/25/2026CSV1.17 MB9.78 MB
JSON1.51 MB37.53 MB
SQL1.27 MB17.89 MB
XML1.65 MB63.20 MB
CN2026.06 Release Notes6/25/2026PDFN/A55.47 KB
CN2026.055/21/2026CSV1.19 MB9.94 MB
JSON1.53 MB38.10 MB
SQL1.29 MB18.17 MB
XML1.67 MB64.14 MB
CN2026.05 Release Notes5/21/2026PDFN/A78.11 KB
CN2026.044/23/2026CSV1.19 MB9.94 MB
JSON1.53 MB38.10 MB
SQL1.29 MB18.17 MB
XML1.67 MB64.14 MB
CN2026.04 Release Notes4/23/2026PDFN/A77.95 KB
CN2026.033/12/2026CSV1.19 MB9.93 MB
JSON1.53 MB38.26 MB
SQL1.29 MB18.15 MB
XML1.67 MB63.99 MB
CN2026.03 Release Notes3/12/2026PDFN/A78.12 KB
CN2026.022/19/2026CSV1.18 MB9.92 MB
JSON1.53 MB38.23 MB
SQL1.28 MB18.14 MB
XML1.67 MB63.92 MB
CN2026.02 Release Notes2/19/2026PDFN/A77.91 KB
CN2026.011/22/2026CSV1.18 MB9.85 MB
JSON1.52 MB37.95 MB
SQL1.28 MB18 MB
XML1.66 MB63.46 MB
CN2026.01 Release Notes1/22/2026PDFN/A80.78 KB
Child Nutrition Database Documentation1/22/2026PDFN/A226.47 KB
CN2025.1212/18/2025CSV1.16 MB9.67 MB
JSON1.5 MB37.71 MB
SQL1.26 MB17.82 MB
XML1.63 MB63.16 MB
CN2025.12 Release Notes12/18/2025PDFN/A72.52 KB
Child Nutrition Database Documentation7/24/2025PDFN/A232.60 KB
CN2025.1111/20/2025CSV1.16 MB9.67 MB
JSON1.5 MB37.7 MB
SQL1.26 MB17.81 MB
XML1.63 MB63.13 MB
CN2025.11 Release Notes11/20/2025PDFN/A72.93 KB
CN2025.099/18/2025CSV1.15 MB9.52 MB
JSON1.48 MB37.16 MB
SQL1.24 MB17.55 MB
XML1.61 MB62.25 MB
CN2025.09 Release Notes9/18/2025PDFN/A73.73 KB

* Listed measurements are actual byte sizes and may vary after download and extraction depending on your local operating system and disk format.