About our data
This site is built on public food-composition databases. The data has not been independently verified by us, has not been reviewed by a nutrition professional, and is not health advice.
Where values come from
Every amount is copied unchanged from a record in one of these databases (three organisations, four releases). We do not adjust, convert, average or estimate values.
| Source | Release used | Foods using it first | Licence and attribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods | 2026-10-29 (JSON) | 98 | Public domain (CC0 1.0). Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central, fdc.nal.usda.gov. |
| USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy | 2018-04 (CSV) | 600 | Public domain (CC0 1.0). Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central, fdc.nal.usda.gov. |
| UK CoFID (Public Health England) | 2021 integrated dataset (xlsx) | 142 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) 2021, © Crown copyright, Public Health England (now UK Health Security Agency). |
| Canadian Nutrient File (Health Canada) | 2026 (14th edition, May 2026) | 52 | Canadian Nutrient File, 2026, Health Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Values are shown unchanged. This is not an official version of the file and is not endorsed by Health Canada. |
“Foods using it first” counts the 892 foods in our data by the highest-priority source behind their default preparation. We are not affiliated with these organisations and they do not endorse this site.
How to read a value
- Per 100 g. All amounts are for 100 g of the food as described by the source record (edible portion). Units are shown beside every number.
- Not available means the source has no value. It is never shown as zero and never filled in from another food.
- Not measured by this source means the source does not report that nutrient at all.
- 0 (reported) means the source explicitly reports zero. 0 (assumed) means the source assumes zero, for example for a nutrient a food is not expected to contain.
- Trace means the source says the nutrient is present in a trace amount. Present; no reliable value means it is present but the source gives no usable number.
- How a value was obtained (laboratory measurement, calculation, estimate from a similar food) is shown when the source says so. Many do not.
- Rounding. Amounts from USDA and UK CoFID are shown rounded to three significant figures; the stored value is the one in the source record. Amounts from the Canadian Nutrient File are shown exactly as supplied, with no rounding.
- Values are typical, not guaranteed. Real foods vary by variety, season, growing conditions and processing.
How a value is chosen
Several databases can describe the same food. For each food and preparation we use one source per nutrient, in a fixed order: USDA Foundation Foods, then USDA SR Legacy, then UK CoFID, then the Canadian Nutrient File. When other sources also have a value we say so (“+1 other”), but we do not average them. Records measured with inedible material such as shell or bone are not used for display.
Vitamin definitions differ between databases (for example vitamin A as retinol activity equivalents, vitamin E as alpha-tocopherol, vitamin K as phylloquinone, folate as total folate). We show the nutrient as defined above and keep the source named beside each value.
Preparation
Raw, boiled, roasted, dried and other preparations have different nutrient values, so each is kept separate. 474 of the 892 foods have more than one preparation with usable records; the profile page lets you switch between them. Where a source does not state the preparation we label it “Preparation not stated” rather than guessing. Dried foods and spices (102 in our data) are concentrated, so they are hidden from default rankings; a switch on every ranking brings them back.
Known limitations
- Coverage is uneven. Vitamin K, choline, biotin, iodine and amino acids are missing for many foods. Rankings for these are labelled “Data limited”. A ranking only compares foods that have a value.
- Names are still being reviewed. They are cleaned automatically from source names, and clear errors are corrected where the source record supports it. Some foods appear under similar names (for example Brazil nuts and Brazilnuts) because different databases name them differently. They are cross-linked, not merged.
- Categories are automatic and may place a food oddly.
- Products and mixed dishes are mostly excluded for now; a held-back list is kept for review.
- Serving sizes are not shown. Everything is per 100 g, which can make seeds and spices look more important than a realistic serving justifies.
- Not every food exists here. Missing foods are tracked in a review queue with the evidence needed, and are not added by hand without a traceable source.
- Images: most foods have AI-generated illustrations that are still awaiting human review; a few (mainly dried entries) show a neutral tile until their image is created, checked and licensed.
What is still being checked
- Review of the explanatory text by a qualified nutrition professional (nothing on this site has had that review yet).
- Editorial curation of food names, categories and synonyms.
- A checked image for every food (illustrations are AI-generated and not photographs of the tested sample).
- Reference intakes and serving sizes (not shown today).
- Foods not yet in the data, such as moringa leaf powder, sea moss products and shilajit, need separate sourcing.
Who publishes this
New Earth Essentials is published by NEW EARTH DISTRIBUTION LTD. Company number 16024639. Registered office: 124–128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX. Contact: info@newearthessential.com. For how visitor data is handled, see Privacy and cookies.