@pipeworx/usda-fdc

USDA Food Data Central MCP — comprehensive nutrient database for US foods (~600k items across SR Legacy, Foundation, Survey, Branded, Experimental data types).

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1394+ live data sources.

Tools

• search_foods(query, data_type?, page_size?, page_number?, sort_by?, sort_order?, brand_owner?)

• get_food(fdc_id, format?, nutrients?) — single-food detail

• list_foods(data_type?, page_size?, page_number?, sort_by?, sort_order?) — browse

• list_food_groups() — USDA food group reference

• nutrients_for_food(fdc_id, nutrient_numbers?) — convenience: just the nutrient values

Related MCP server: Food Data Central MCP Server

Auth

• Platform key: gateway env PLATFORM_USDA_FDC_KEY

• BYO: ?_apiKey=<key> after registering at https://api.data.gov/signup/

Free tier: 1000 req/hour.

Data source

https://api.nal.usda.gov/fdc/v1/ — api_key= query param.

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "usda-fdc": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usda-fdc/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway for access to all 1394+ data sources:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Usda Fdc data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides

• pipeworx.io

License

MIT