Tag: Fooddata central

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officially replaced the well-established National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (NNDSR) with a modernized system called FoodData Central. However, the legacy NNDSR data, now known as 'SR Legacy,' continues to be a cornerstone of food composition data, providing the nutritional content for thousands of generic food items.

For over 124 years, the USDA has been maintaining tables of food composition, a process modernized and managed by the National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP). This critical initiative collects and analyzes nationally representative food samples to ensure a robust and up-to-date food composition database.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the vast majority of its food composition data is publicly available at no cost. This makes the USDA food database a powerful, free resource for anyone interested in detailed nutritional information, from academic researchers to home cooks and app developers.

The USDA's FoodData Central system, a crucial resource for nutritional information, was first launched in April 2019 and features several data types with varying update schedules. Understanding how often is the USDA database updated is key for researchers, nutritionists, and consumers who rely on this information for accuracy.

For over a century, the USDA has been a leading provider of food composition data, with its efforts beginning around 1894. The USDA nutrition Database Standard Reference (SR) was the long-standing, authoritative resource for this information, setting the benchmark for nutrient data across countless applications.