# USDA FoodData Central food search

Searches USDA FoodData Central foods (Foundation, SR Legacy, Survey FNDDS and Branded products with brand owner, UPC and ingredients) and returns matching. Needs query.

Searches USDA FoodData Central foods (Foundation, SR Legacy, Survey FNDDS and Branded products with brand owner, UPC and ingredients) and returns matching foods with their FDC id and nutrient values. Use usda/fooddata-food for one food's full profile.

- Tool ID: `usda/fooddata-search`
- Provider: [USDA](/providers/usda.md)
- Capability: [Knowledge & research](/tools/knowledge.md)
- Price: no charge per call
- Authentication: an authorised Agentik workspace is required for execution, including zero-price tools.

## Pricing contract

No charge per call. A workspace is still needed so your agent can call it.


```json
{
  "model": "per_call",
  "amountUsd": 0
}
```

## Complete input schema


```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 2,
      "maxLength": 200,
      "description": "Food or product words, e.g. 'cheddar cheese'"
    },
    "data_type": {
      "type": "array",
      "maxItems": 4,
      "items": {
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "Foundation",
          "SR Legacy",
          "Survey (FNDDS)",
          "Branded"
        ]
      },
      "description": "Data types to include, e.g. ['Foundation', 'SR Legacy']"
    },
    "brand_owner": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 2,
      "maxLength": 120,
      "description": "Brand owner for Branded foods, e.g. 'Kraft Heinz Foods Company'"
    },
    "sort_by": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "dataType.keyword",
        "lowercaseDescription.keyword",
        "fdcId",
        "publishedDate"
      ],
      "description": "Sort field, e.g. 'publishedDate'"
    },
    "sort_order": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "asc",
        "desc"
      ],
      "description": "Sort order, e.g. 'desc'"
    },
    "page_size": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 1,
      "maximum": 10,
      "default": 5,
      "description": "Foods per page (Foundation foods carry ~45 KB of nutrients each), e.g. 5"
    },
    "page_number": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 1,
      "maximum": 200,
      "default": 1,
      "description": "Page number, e.g. 1"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "query"
  ],
  "additionalProperties": false
}
```

## Published example

This is the provider tool’s published example. Replace example values with the user’s requested inputs, respecting the schema; do not execute an example merely to test a connection.


```json
{
  "tool_id": "usda/fooddata-search",
  "input": {
    "query": "cheddar cheese",
    "data_type": [
      "Foundation"
    ],
    "page_size": 2
  }
}
```

## Execute and retrieve

Inspect again before execution, explain the price and obtain the required authority. Use MCP run_tool or POST /v1/run with this tool ID, valid input and an idempotency key. Save the returned run ID and follow the actual state. If Agentik answers that the tool is temporarily unavailable, do not retry it blindly; use discovery to propose an alternative.

A partial or uncertain result can still have consumed provider resources. Consult [billing](/docs/billing.md), [idempotency](/docs/idempotency.md) and [asynchronous results](/docs/async.md).

Licence: CC0 1.0 (USDA FoodData Central, public domain).

Attribution: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central (fdc.nal.usda.gov).

[Provider documentation](https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/api-guide/)

[REST inspection](https://api.agentik.cc/v1/tools/usda/fooddata-search) · [OpenAPI](/openapi.json) · [Connection guide](/connect.md)

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[HTML page](/providers/usda/fooddata-search) · [Agent index](/llms.txt)