NUTRIENT DATA LABORATORY
Searching the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

This interface allows simple searches of the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). You can enter up to 5 keywords which you think best describe your food item, though it is usually best to use fewer keywords. If you don't get a match, check your spelling or try a related keyword. If you get too many food items, try a more specific keyword. If you enter two or more keywords, the program will search for food items which contain all of the keywords. Keywords do not have to be adjacent or in the same order as they appear in the food item. You can exclude food items by placing the word "not" in front of a keyword.

Example: Entering "apples not canned" will produce a list of food items containing the keyword "apples" but not the keyword "canned".

If you’re uncertain of the spelling of a word, or don’t know if it’s singular or plural, you can enter a string. Search results will include any item containing that string of characters at the beginning of a word. The string “straw” brings up 41 items; 40 of those contain the word strawberry or strawberries, the other item is straw mushrooms.

In addition to searching the Long Description Field (full description containing the name of the food with relevant characteristics, e.g., raw, enriched), the search program has been designed to search the Common Names Field. Common names include alternate names or codes that may be used for a food, e.g. soda or pop for a carbonated beverage, or Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standards (URMIS) codes for specific cuts. Using the URMIS system, enter the # symbol followed immediately by the code. For example, for beef shortribs, with an URMIS number of 2074, enter #2074 into the search box.

Selecting weights and measures:

After you’ve selected a food item, a set of weights and measures specific to that food item will be displayed. You can select up to 5 food specific weights or you can select 100 grams (the default, which includes sample count and standard error) and up to 4 additional food specific weights. By clicking the amount field you can modify the desired weight. For example, nutrient values in 75 grams can be calculated by changing the 1.00 in the 100 grams amount field to 0.75. For help on converting common fractions to decimal values, click on the “Tips on Fractions” link.
 

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