Calories and macros for 5.2 million foods#

Search USDA FoodData Central and Open Food Facts by name, barcode, meal description or photo. One API key, JSON responses, and you pay per query.

Each result names its source record, its serving sizes, and the amount its values were measured on. A nutrient the source doesn't list comes back as null, not zero.

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Barcode lookup

$ curl 'https://kcal.elbantli.com/v1/barcode?barcode=3017620422003' \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $KCAL_API_KEY"

{
  "name": "Nutella",
  "brand": "Nutella, Ferrero",
  "source": "off",
  "nutrition": [{
    "preparation": "as_sold",
    "basis": { "quantity": 100, "unit": "g" },
    "nutrients": {
      "kcal": 539, "proteinG": 6.3, "carbsG": 57.5,
      "fatG": 30.9, "sugarsG": 56.3, "saltG": 0.107
    }
  }, …],
  "portions": [ … ]
}

4.77MOpen Food Facts
455KUSDA Branded
7.8KUSDA SR Legacy
5.4KUSDA Survey
395USDA Foundation

API

Search by name, barcode, meal or photo#

Basic search and barcode lookup read the catalog directly. Smart search and image search split a meal into up to 12 foods and match each one with its amount.

When a food has no confident match, the API marks it no_match or ambiguous instead of picking the nearest result.

Basic search
Find foods by name, brand, or ingredients.
GET /v1/basic-search
Smart search
Turn a meal description into foods and portions.
POST /v1/smart-search
Image search
Identify foods and portions from a photo.
POST /v1/image-transcribe
Barcode lookup
Look up a packaged food by its barcode.
GET /v1/barcode

Pricing

Pay per successful query#

Your first 10 successful queries are free, with no card. After that, add credit from $5. Failed requests are refunded.

Endpoint	Per query	Per 1,000
Basic search	$0.003	$3.00
Smart search	$0.040	$40.00
Image search	$0.055	$55.00
Barcode lookup	$0.002	$2.00

Smart and image search are priced per request, for up to 12 foods. Credits expire 12 months after your last top-up.

Quickstart

Try it with curl#

Create an API key in the console, then run any of these.

Terminal

export KCAL=https://kcal.elbantli.com/v1
export AUTH="Authorization: Bearer $KCAL_API_KEY"

# Search by name, brand, or ingredients
curl "$KCAL/basic-search?q=greek+yogurt&nb_results=3" -H "$AUTH"

# Split a meal description into foods and amounts
curl "$KCAL/smart-search" -H "$AUTH" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"q": "2 eggs and a slice of sourdough"}'

# Identify the foods in a photo
curl "$KCAL/image-transcribe" -H "$AUTH" -F image=@lunch.jpg

# Look up a packaged food by barcode
curl "$KCAL/barcode?barcode=3017620422003" -H "$AUTH"

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Changelog

What changed#

Sep 29, 2026
- Credits expire 12 months after your last top-up. Each new top-up resets the date, and the billing page shows it.
- Search ranks generic USDA reference foods above unbranded duplicates.
- Misspelled, French and British food names find their English match: bananna, pomme and crisps return banana, apple and potato chips.
- Smart and image search results include the reference names used to match each food, in a new references field.
Sep 28, 2026
- Shortened brand names such as coke zero and kitkat rank the branded product first.
Sep 27, 2026
- First release: basic search, smart search, image search and barcode lookup.
- The first 10 successful queries are free. After that, prepaid credits from $5, and failed requests are refunded.