USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) · Schema

USDA FoodData Central Food Item

JSON Schema for a food item record from the USDA FoodData Central API.

Federal GovernmentAgricultureFood SafetyNutritionOpen DataResearch

Properties

Name	Type	Description
fdcId	integer	Unique FoodData Central identifier
description	string	Food description/name
dataType	string	The type of food data record
publishedDate	string	Date the food was published in FDC
foodCategory	stringnull	USDA food category
brandOwner	stringnull	Brand owner (Branded Foods only)
brandName	stringnull	Brand name (Branded Foods only)
ingredients	stringnull	Ingredient list (Branded Foods only)
servingSize	numbernull	Standard serving size
servingSizeUnit	stringnull	Unit for serving size (g, ml, etc.)
foodNutrients	array	Nutritional composition per 100g

View JSON Schema on GitHub

JSON Schema

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "$id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/usda-agricultural-research-service-ars-/main/json-schema/usda-ars-food-item-schema.json",
  "title": "USDA FoodData Central Food Item",
  "description": "JSON Schema for a food item record from the USDA FoodData Central API.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "fdcId": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Unique FoodData Central identifier"
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Food description/name"
    },
    "dataType": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["Foundation", "Branded", "Survey (FNDDS)", "SR Legacy", "Experimental"],
      "description": "The type of food data record"
    },
    "publishedDate": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Date the food was published in FDC"
    },
    "foodCategory": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "USDA food category"
    },
    "brandOwner": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Brand owner (Branded Foods only)"
    },
    "brandName": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Brand name (Branded Foods only)"
    },
    "ingredients": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Ingredient list (Branded Foods only)"
    },
    "servingSize": {
      "type": ["number", "null"],
      "description": "Standard serving size"
    },
    "servingSizeUnit": {
      "type": ["string", "null"],
      "description": "Unit for serving size (g, ml, etc.)"
    },
    "foodNutrients": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Nutritional composition per 100g",
      "items": {
        "$ref": "#/$defs/FoodNutrient"
      }
    }
  },
  "required": ["fdcId", "description", "dataType"],
  "$defs": {
    "FoodNutrient": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Individual nutrient measurement",
      "properties": {
        "nutrientId": {
          "type": "integer",
          "description": "USDA nutrient ID"
        },
        "nutrientName": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Nutrient name"
        },
        "nutrientNumber": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "USDA nutrient number"
        },
        "unitName": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Unit of measurement (g, mg, kcal, IU, etc.)"
        },
        "value": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Amount per 100g of food"
        }
      },
      "required": ["nutrientId", "nutrientName", "value"]
    }
  }
}