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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #387950
Research Project: USDA National Nutrient Databank for Food Composition

Location: Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory

Title: USDA’s FoodData Central: What is it? and Why is it needed today?

Author
item Fukagawa, Naomi
item McKillop, Kyle
item Pehrsson, Pamela
item Moshfegh, Alanna
item Harnly, James - Jim
item Finley, John

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/25/2021
Publication Date: 12/10/2021
Citation: Fukagawa, N.K., Mckillop, K.A., Pehrsson, P.R., Moshfegh, A.J., Harnly, J.M., Finley, J.W. 2021. USDA’s FoodData Central: What is it? and why is it needed today? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab397.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab397

Interpretive Summary: FoodData Central (FDC) is at the center of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)-based food information web. It serves as an integrated data system that presently provides—in one place—five distinct types of data containing information on food and nutrient profiles. Each data type has a unique purpose. FDC is USDA’s answer to the challenge of providing reliable, web-based, transparent, and easily accessible information about the nutrients and other components of foods and food products to meet the increasingly diverse needs of many audiences, including public health professionals, agricultural and environmental researchers, policy makers, nutrition professionals, healthcare providers, product developers, and consumers.

Technical Abstract: FoodData Central (FDC) is at the center of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)-based food information web. It serves as an integrated data system that presently provides—in one place—five distinct types of data containing information on food and nutrient profiles. Each data type has a unique purpose. Two of the data types—Foundation Foods and Experimental Foods—represent “a bridge to the future” in food and nutrient composition. They provide data and metadata that have never previously been available. The other three data types in FoodData Central are well-established and familiar to many users: Standard Reference (SR), Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) and Branded Foods Products Database (BFPD). After more than 100 years of maintaining food composition data within the Agricultural Research Service, it was clear that change was needed to respond to the rapid increase in the number and variety of foods in the food supply, evolution of analytical approaches and new agricultural practices and products. Conclusion: FDC is USDA’s answer to the challenge of providing reliable, web-based, transparent, and easily accessible information about the nutrients and other components of foods and food products to meet the increasingly diverse needs of many audiences, including public health professionals, agricultural and environmental researchers, policy makers, nutrition professionals, healthcare providers, product developers, and consumers.