`search_foods`

Pack: usda-fdc · Connect: https://pipeworx.io/mcp (see Connect below for a single-pack URL)

No MCP client? Call it directly: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_foods for the schema, then POST the same URL with its arguments for the data.

Search USDA Food Data Central for food items by name, brand, or ingredient. Supports filtering by data type (Branded, Foundation, SR Legacy, Survey FNDDS, Experimental) and brand owner. Returns FDC id, description, data type, and publication date per result.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	yes	Free-text — name / brand / ingredient
`data_type`	string	no	Filter to data type(s). Comma-sep. Options: ${DATA_TYPES}
`brand_owner`	string	no	Restrict to a brand owner
`page_size`	number	no	1-200 (default 50)
`page_number`	number	no	1-based page (default 1)
`sort_by`	string	no	dataType.keyword \| lowercaseDescription.keyword \| fdcId \| publishedDate (default relevance)
`sort_order`	string	no	asc \| desc

Example call

Arguments

{
  "query": "organic whole milk"
}

curl

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/usda-fdc/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_foods","arguments":{"query":"organic whole milk"}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();

const result = await pipeworx.call('search_foods', {
  "query": "organic whole milk"
});

More examples

{
  "query": "chicken breast",
  "brand_owner": "Perdue",
  "page_size": 25,
  "sort_by": "publishedDate",
  "sort_order": "desc"
}

Response shape

Field	Type	Description
`foodSearchCriteria`	object	Search criteria used
`totalHits`	number	Total number of matching foods
`currentPage`	number	Current page number
`foods`	array	Array of food items matching search

Full JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "description": "Search results from USDA FDC food items",
  "properties": {
    "foodSearchCriteria": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Search criteria used"
    },
    "totalHits": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Total number of matching foods"
    },
    "currentPage": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Current page number"
    },
    "foods": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Array of food items matching search",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "fdcId": {
            "type": "number",
            "description": "FDC food identifier"
          },
          "description": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Food description"
          },
          "dataType": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Type of food data (Branded, Foundation, etc.)"
          },
          "publishedDate": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Date food was published"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config — every tool in the catalog, including this one — or use one-click install buttons:

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

Connect to just the usda-fdc pack

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

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

search_foods