Turn Any Recipe Into a Nutrition Facts Label in Seconds
Published July 17, 2026
A food label API returns the structured nutrition facts you need to render a Nutrition Facts panel: calories, macros, and key micronutrients per serving and per 100g. Whether you are labeling a packaged product or a recipe, the API supplies the data and your front end draws the label. This guide covers both cases.
What a Label Needs
A Nutrition Facts panel is built from a fixed set of fields. A good nutrition API returns them in a predictable shape:
| Field | Panel line |
|---|---|
calories | Calories |
fat_g, saturated_fat_g | Total / Saturated Fat |
sodium_mg | Sodium |
carbohydrates_g, fiber_g, sugar_g | Total Carbohydrate |
protein_g | Protein |
serving_size | Serving size |
Label a Single Food
curl "https://api.calorieapi.com/api/v1/search/foods?q=cheddar+cheese" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Take the returned per-serving and per-100g values and map them onto your label template.
Generate a Label for a Recipe
For a made dish, resolve each ingredient to a food_id via search, then post the IDs with servings — the endpoint totals the recipe and divides by servings for you:
curl -X POST "https://api.calorieapi.com/api/v1/public/calc/recipe" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"servings": 12,
"ingredients": [
{"food_id": 20081, "grams": 240},
{"food_id": 19335, "grams": 200},
{"food_id": 1145, "grams": 113}
]
}'
The response gives total and per_serving macros — the per_serving values are exactly the numbers a Nutrition Facts label displays.
Data Accuracy for Labels
Labels should use consistent, source-cited data. Prefer verified/generic foods over self-reported branded entries where accuracy matters — see verified foods filter.
Start Building
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a food label API?
It is an API that returns structured nutrition facts — calories, macros, and key micronutrients per serving and per 100g — so your app can render a Nutrition Facts panel for a food or recipe.
Can I generate a nutrition label from a recipe?
Yes. Resolve each ingredient to a food ID via search, then send those IDs and the serving count to a recipe endpoint. It returns total and per-serving macros, and the per-serving values are exactly what a Nutrition Facts panel displays.
What fields do I need for a Nutrition Facts panel?
Calories, total and saturated fat, sodium, total carbohydrate with fiber and sugar, protein, and the serving size. A nutrition API returns these in a predictable shape to map onto a label template.
Is there a free food label API?
Yes. The Calorie API returns structured nutrition facts and recipe totals on a free tier of 1,000 requests per month with no credit card, suitable for generating labels.