Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the nutrition data come from?

USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food composition database. It's public domain (CC0); we only need to cite it.

Is the data lab-tested?

For branded packaged products, no — it's the information the manufacturer filed from the label. USDA standard reference and USDA-analyzed foods are laboratory-measured. Each page notes which kind it is.

Could the numbers be out of date?

Yes. Manufacturers reformulate, and the filed label can lag the box on the shelf. Every product page shows when its record was published or updated in FoodData Central.

Why isn't there a page for every product yet?

The database has hundreds of thousands of entries with a lot of duplication and missing fields. We deduplicate, drop records with no usable nutrition data, and publish in stages — major brands and categories first.

Is this dietary advice?

No. FoodFactsUSA reports what a food contains and nothing more. For guidance on what to eat, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian.

More detail on sources is on the About the Data page.