At A Glance

Noteworthy Characteristics

  • Data are obtained from pooled analyses, industry sources, standard calculations, and scientific literature.
  • Data are updated regularly to reflect actual changes in the food supply and changes in analytic methods.
  • This national resource is the most authoritative source of food composition data in the U.S.; virtually all other sources of food composition data are derived from this source.

Website

http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=8964

Purpose

To provide authoritative food composition data for foods available in the United States (U.S.).

Target Population

Basic foods—commodities and commonly prepared foods—available for consumption in the U.S.

Conducted

Updated approximately every year.

Sponsor

Nutrient Data Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Sampling

Sample Design

Database, not a survey. Database contain data on food composition compiled from published and unpublished sources.

Sample Size

Database contains data on 8,789 food items and up to 150 food components.

Key Variables

Diet-Related

NameMethods of Assessment
Alpha-carotene De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Beta-carotene De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Beta-cryptoxanthin De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Calcium De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Carbohydrate (by difference) De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Cholesterol De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Choline, total De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
CopperDe novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Dietary Folate Equivalents De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Energy (Calories) De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Fat De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Individual fatty acids De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Iron De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Lutein+zeaxanthin De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Lycopene De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Magnesium De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
ManganeseDe novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Niacin De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Pantothenic acid De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Phosphorus De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Potassium De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
ProteinDe novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Riboflavin De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Selenium De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Sodium De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Thiamin De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Total dietary fiber De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Total fatDe novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Total monounsaturated fatty acids De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Total polyunsaturated fatty acids De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Total saturated fatty acids De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Total sugar De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin A (IU) De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin A (RAE) De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin B12 De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin B6 De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin C De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin D, IU De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin D, mcg De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature
Zinc De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature

Other

NameMethods of Assessment
Moisture De novo chemical analyses, or reports of analyses from industry or literature

Data Access and Cost

Data Availability

Download data.

Cost

Available free of charge.

Special Note(s)

Search data online.

Geocode/Linkage

Geocode Variable(s)

None noted.

Existing Linkages

None noted.

Selected Publications

General

Bhagwat SA, Patterson KK, Holden JM. Validation study of the USDA's data quality evaluation system. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2009;22(5):366-372.

Haytowitz DB, Lemar LE, Pehrsson PR. USDA's Nutrient Databank System: A tool for handling data from diverse sources. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2009;22(5):433-441.

Haytowitz DB, Pehrsson PR, Holden JM. The National Food and Analysis Program: A decade of progress. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2008;21(Suppl 1):S94-S102.

Resources

Data Query System

Search data online.

Documentation/Codebook(s)

Documentation

Reports of all the foods in the database

Reports of selected nutrients sorted either alphabetically by food name or by content per household measure