# USDA data, checked by you.

Every line meets a USDA food or your supplier spec, and you see which before it counts.

[Start free](https://studio.bettermenu.live/signup) [See it in ChatGPT and Claude](https://bettermenu.live/platform/ai-and-agents/)

[Search USDA free](https://bettermenu.live/tools/ingredient-search/us/foods/)

Studio, real UI: a USDA food found by name, then its nutrients for any portion

## Which USDA data does Formulate use?

Four USDA FoodData Central sets. Each food keeps its USDA name and values per 100 g, so you can check it.

- Foundation
- SR Legacy
- Survey (FNDDS)
- Branded

Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry

| Nutrient | Per 100 g |
| --- | --- |
| Calories | 379 kcal |
| Total Fat | 6.52 g |
| Sodium | 6 mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 67.7 g |
| Protein | 13.15 g |

Per 100 g, as USDA publishes it USDA portion: 1 cup = 81 g

One USDA SR Legacy record, as Formulate reads it.

## How is a match chosen?

AI matches each line to the USDA food it means. You review it, pick another or confirm it. Then the compliance engine does the math. We send recipe lines only to AI providers that do not train on them and keep none of them after answering.

- [Try the free food search](https://bettermenu.live/tools/ingredient-search/us/foods/)

Figure: Fixing an AI match: 1/2 cup cacao nibs matched to cocoa, dry powder, swapped for Cacao Nibs by USDA search, 80 g A recipe line, 1/2 cup cacao nibs. The AI picked Cocoa, dry powder, the wrong food, so it is struck out. You search USDA for "cacao nibs", pick Cacao Nibs and set its weight, 80 g, then confirm the line.

Each line beside its USDA match

## How do cups and spoons become grams?

Grams stay as they are. Ounces and pounds convert by a fixed table. Cups and spoons use the USDA portion weight for that food. Only when no portion fits does AI estimate a weight, marked as an estimate you can change.

Figure: Four recipe lines become grams four ways: grams pass through, ounces use a fixed table, cups use the USDA portion, and only when no portion fits does AI estimate Four recipe lines and how each becomes grams. 250 g rolled oats: Grams pass through, no conversion, gives 250 g. 8 oz butter: Fixed table, 1 oz = 28.35 g, gives 226.8 g. 1 cup rolled oats: USDA portion, 1 cup = 81 g, gives 81 g. 1 knob ginger: AI estimate, no USDA portion fits, you can change it, gives about 25 g. The estimate is marked as an estimate.

Four recipe lines become grams four ways, AI estimating only when no USDA portion fits

Free to start. No card needed.

[Start free](https://studio.bettermenu.live/signup)

[See pricing](https://bettermenu.live/pricing/)

## What if my ingredient is not in USDA?

Add it once from your supplier’s spec sheet, then use it in any recipe like a USDA food.

- Ranks first in search
- Each edit is a version
- See which recipes use it

A supplier’s ingredient added once, then found first in search (sample supplier, invented values)

## Read next

- [Build Paste a recipe, match USDA data, set servings.](https://bettermenu.live/formulate/build/)
- [How we calculate From ingredient grams to the rounded number.](https://bettermenu.live/platform/how-we-calculate/)
- [AI and agents What the AI does, and where it stops. Works in ChatGPT and Claude.](https://bettermenu.live/platform/ai-and-agents/)

## Make your first label today.

No card needed. [See pricing](https://bettermenu.live/pricing/).

[Start free](https://studio.bettermenu.live/signup) [See it in ChatGPT and Claude](https://bettermenu.live/platform/ai-and-agents/)

Source: https://bettermenu.live/platform/ingredient-data/