USDA’s new food products database exposes nutritional values of brands
The nutritional values of thousands of foods sold in the US is now easily accessible through an online database launched by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The Branded Food Product Database is free to use and contains nutritional details on more than 80, 000 brand name prepared and packaged foods available at supermarkets and restaurants in the US.
USDA partnered with International Life Sciences Institute North American, GS1 WorldSync and Label Insight to develop the database.
US Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, said there is a lot of data from the public and private sectors that can improve the health of people if it is easily accessible.
“The partnership that produced the database is more proof that governments, non-profits, businesses and researchers are capable fostering scientific innovation by making life-changing data open and available to parents, healthcare professionals, scientists, businesses and everyone interested,” Vilsack said.
The database expands on the USDA’s National Nutrient Database which only included details on 8, 800 foods. As more information is added to the Branded Food Product Database, it is expected that serving size, servings per packet, nutrients and other key information will be available for up to 500, 000 products.
The UDSA says consumer health and nutrition apps can use the database to provide consumers with nutritional information easily.
