#fatsecret

With our latest feature upgrade yesterday, we have enhanced our existing AI powered API methods Image Recognition and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to now also return the following food item attributes:

food images (see 'food_images': three .png files of different sizes)

allergens (see 'allergen': covering 10 different allergens)

dietary preferences (see 'preference': specifying vegan and/or vegetarian)

for all underlying and identified food objects in all image and NLP inputs (where these attributes are available for the given food item). In order to return these 3 data points directly, please format your POST request to have:

"include_food_data" = true

Previously, these 3 data points were only available via food.get.v4, food.get.v5, foods.search.v3 and foods.search.v4 hence in order to return these data points via our AI powered methods, an additional API call to food.get.v4 or food.get.v5 would have been required.

This requirement is now obsolete.

Please Note:

We currently publish food images, allergens for dietary preferences for all generics and composite generic foods globally. More information is available here.

More information on our AI powered API methods is available here.

Our latest Image Recognition REST API method documentation is available here:

Our latest Natural Language Processing REST API method is available here:

We’re excited to announce the launch of three upgraded API methods designed to enhance how partners interact with our global food and nutrition database. These latest updates improve branded and manufactured food data granularity, enable faster access to comprehensive food details, and streamline search functionality - all while keeping backward compatibility in mind.

Here’s what’s new:

1. food.find_id_for_barcode.v2: Barcode Lookup, Evolved

Our upgraded barcode lookup method now returns the entire food object, including its full nutritional breakdown, rather than just the food_id. This is ideal for partners looking to simplify their data flow: One call now returns all food information.

The method also supports optional parameters previously found in food.get.v4, including:

include_sub_categories

include_food_images

include_food_attributes

flag_default_serving

region

language

This allows for even more targeted results based on your app or user requirements. Our updated REST API documentation for food.find_id_for_barcode.v2 is available here:

2. food.get.v5: Standardized Servings for Branded / Manufactured and Restaurant Foods

Version 5 of the food.get endpoint introduces standardized derived servings (e.g., 100g, 100ml or 1oz and 100g) for food items where food_type = ‘brand’ that have an existing serving amount.

Please note: Each newly derived serving:

Will use serving_id = 0

Cannot be used with food_entry.create

Will be automatically included in responses for eligible Brand foods

This enhancement provides a more consistent and comparable nutrient view across branded and manufactured products globally and marks a big win for dietitians, nutrition apps, and data scientists alike.

Our updated REST API documentation for food.get.v5 is available here:

3. foods.search.v4: Aligned with food.get.v5

The latest search endpoint, foods.search.v4, ensures consistency with the updated food.get.v5 structure by also including these new standardized servings in search results.

Our updated REST API documentation for foods.search.v4 is available here:

When Will These Updates Roll Out?

The additional servings will be rolled out globally across all eligible Brand food items between September 30th and December 29th, 2025. Any new or edited branded food entries during this period will automatically include the new standardized servings.

These new methods mark another step forward in fatsecret’s mission to power nutrition innovation through clean, complete, and accessible data globally. We encourage partners and API developers to begin integrating the new versions today to stay ahead of the curve.

Want to see how these new and our other API methods can enhance your digital products?

We exist to make weight loss simpler, more sustainable and genuinely personal. That mission shows up in everything we do - and in how we present ourselves.

In October 2024, we completed a style update across our apps, websites and customer-facing channels: our brand name is now written all lowercase: fatsecret. You’ve probably noticed this already in-product, communications and on our social channels. This post is your single, linkable reference that confirms the change and explains why it matters.

why lowercase? 

Lowercase looks simple because it is simple - and that’s the point. For modern, digital-first brands (think adidas, lululemon), letter case is more than typography; it’s a signal. For us, it signals:

Simplicity. We remove complexity so you can focus on what works. Lowercase reflects that minimalist, get-out-of-the-way approach.

Humility & Partnership. We’re here to support your goals, not shout over them. A quieter look matches a more human tone.

Digital Future. It aligns our identity with the product experience you already know: clean, approachable and helpful.

the official style

Please use the following when writing about our company, products and services.

Always use: fatsecret

Never use: Fatsecret, FatSecret, FATSECRET, or Fat Secret

This all-lowercase form is our standard across consumer and business sites, mobile apps, communications and partner materials.

Quick usage examples

“Powered by fatsecret data.”

“Start your weight-loss journey with fatsecret.”

“The fatsecret app supports sustainable weight loss.”

(If a sentence begins with our name, please keep it lowercase: “fatsecret helps you…”.)

why now?

As our focus expands from tracking to empowering individualized, sustainable weight loss, we want every touchpoint to feel supportive, not prescriptive. Lowercase helps convey the brand friendliness and approachability behind that goal.

media and partner guidance

Use fatsecret in copy, UI, and metadata.

Match the casing in headlines, captions, alt text, and app store listings.

If you’re updating older content, changing the name style is appreciated but not required; please use fatsecret in any new mentions and forward-looking references.

At fatsecret, innovation never stops. Over the past 15 years, we’ve heard your feedback, and we’re thrilled to unveil two groundbreaking API features that address the two most requested capabilities from our global developer community: Image Recognition and Natural Language Processing (NLP), designed to elevate how you deliver nutrition data to your users.

Revolutionizing Food Identification

Our advanced AI-powered solutions seamlessly transform user input—be it text, voice, or images—into actionable nutritional insights. Here's how they work:

Image Recognition API: Identify foods and beverages in photos, estimate portion sizes, and match them against our verified nutrition datasets tailored to 56 regions and countries across the globe.

Natural Language Processing API: Accurately parse free-form text or voice to accurately detect food items, portions and nutritional values, mapped to a given country-specific dataset.

These solutions go beyond surface-level detection. They take into account your users' language, region, and eating habits, applying proprietary algorithms to deliver highly accurate matches across 56 countries and 24 languages for generic, packaged and branded as well as restaurant foods.

Above: Example of a UK text input in English via Natural Language Processing

Why Choose fatsecret Over General AI Solutions?

Generic AI solutions often struggle to deliver the consistent, precise and reliable region-specific nutrition insights required to power a successful health, wellness, fitness or medical application. Many developers have turned to us in the past months after struggling with:

Outdated information

Unverified nutritional content

Lack of support for region-specific datasets

With fatsecret, you get access to verified global nutrition data across generic foods, branded as well as restaurant foods—trusted by millions and designed to meet the needs of developers worldwide.

Above: Image Input via Image Recognition for a US output in English

Get Started Today

Integrating these features is simple:

Access: Available as optional add-ons for all fatsecret Premier and Premier Free developers.

Pricing: Usage-based costs apply, with flexible options to suit your needs.

Free Trial: Contact our Platform team to activate your trial today.

Resources to Help You Succeed

We’ve updated our Postman library to make implementation quick and easy. Plus, you can experience these features hands-on with our public API Demo—no coding required!

Why It Matters

With the addition of Image Recognition and Natural Language Processing, your apps can offer users a smoother, more intuitive food and nutrition experience. These tools empower you to deliver tailored insights and create a truly personalized journey for every user.

Above: Image Input via Image Recognition for a Spanish output

We're thrilled to announce a game-changing feature for the fatsecret Platform API - our brand new API demo! This exciting addition allows anyone to explore the full capabilities of our API without needing any coding skills. You can try it out right now at:

https://platform.fatsecret.com/api-demo

What Can You Do with the API Demo?

Our API demo showcases all the major features of the fatsecret Platform API, including:

- Auto-complete Food Search: Get search term suggestions instantly.

- Food Search: Find detailed nutrition information for foods in any available market/language combination.

- Barcode Scanning: Scan barcodes to retrieve nutritional data from food brands and manufacturers effortlessly.

- Recipe Search: Discover new recipes and their nutritional content.

With the API demo, you can explore our vast nutrition database that spans 56 global markets and supports 24 languages. Whether you're performing an auto-complete search, scanning a barcode, or searching for a recipe, simply specify the market to get relevant nutrition data.

For food searches, you can specify both a language and a market, demonstrating the true localization capabilities of our Platform API. This feature provides access to our unique, verified nutrition datasets specific to each country.

Our API returns all major data points, including:

- Nutritional Values: Detailed information about calories, macros, and micronutrients.

- Allergens: Identify potential allergens in foods.

- Dietary Preferences: Filter results based on dietary needs.

- Food Images: View images for generic food items.

Join Our Community

Engage with our active developer community or reach out to us if you have any questions. We’re here to help you make the most of the fatsecret Platform API.

Happy (No-) Coding!

As the first quarter of 2024 is almost coming to a close, we wanted to provide our developer community with a brief update on several major enhancements that our team has delivered for our fatsecret Platform API over the past 5 months.

Allergens & Dietary Preferences. 

One of the most requested capabilities in recent years from our wider developer community has been the ability to know and utilize the allergens and dietary preferences of foods. As of March 2024, these new data types have been added to the fatsecret Platform API with access to the most common 10 allergens as well as the dietary preferences “vegan” and “vegetarian” for all generic food items in our 55+ supported countries.

Our current list of allergens available via the fatsecret Platform API are:

Egg, Fish, Gluten, Lactose, Milk, Nuts, Peanuts, Sesame, Shellfish, Soy

Allergen and dietary preference attributes will become available for branded foods over coming months with a staged roll-out on a per product basis.

Food Images.

Another highly requested feature for many years has been the publication of food images. Similar to allergens and dietary preferences, the fatsecret Platform API will now provide high quality food images for all generic foods globally. At this stage, a single high quality, isolated image for a food item in a neutral setting with bright white background in .png file format is available. 

Each food image file will be available in 3 sizes:

72x72 pixels

400x400 pixels

1024x1024 pixels

New API calls.

With these addition of the new data types, we have also published two upgrades to existing API calls to ensure these capabilities can be accessed and utilized by developers and are available both through food.get and food.search.

Please note that existing API calls (such as food.get.v3 and food.search.v2) remain available and fully functional to ensure backwards compatibility. The new API calls food.get.v4 and food.search.v3 are optional upgrades.

We will enable access to the new data types mentioned above at no additional cost for existing Premier and Premier Free clients. Please get in touch with our Platform API team to gain access and start using these new capabilities today.

New Language. Laskavo prosymo ukrayino!

We have received many requests to support Ukrainian as a new language and are pleased to release it as our 24th supported language. All existing Premier clients with access to localization can now return any given country dataset in Ukrainian by using the new language parameter “uk” as explained here.

Many more recipes.

Given the increased demand from developers to access delicious, high quality and nutritionally verified international recipes we have also just added an additional 1,000 recipes to our global recipe datasets, now covering more than 17,000 recipes from 55 countries. All recipes are country specific meaning they represent the local cuisine of the given country and are made up of local ingredients.

New ideas? More feature requests?

While we do have a solid roadmap for the upcoming iterations of our fatsecret Platform API across the coming weeks and months, we would love to hear from you what features you are missing and what additional ideas you might have. Feel free to reach out to our Platform API team or leave a comment in our dedicated developer forum, see:  https://groups.google.com/g/fatsecret-platform-api