Open Food Facts API Skill
This skill provides access to the Open Food Facts database - a global, crowd-sourced food products database with strong European coverage.
Key Features
- Global coverage: Products from 150+ countries, with strong European presence
- No API key required: Free to use for basic queries
- Barcode lookup: Look up products by EAN/UPC barcode
- Multi-language support: Product data available in many languages
- Real-time data: Community-maintained with frequent updates
Important Limitations
Packaged Products Only: Open Food Facts only contains products with barcodes (EAN/UPC). This means:
- ✅ Packaged foods: soft drinks, chocolate, bread, frozen meals, etc.
- ❌ Fresh produce without packaging: meat from the butcher, loose vegetables, fresh seafood
- ❌ Generic ingredients: "apples", "chicken breast", "rice" (unless packaged by a brand)
Data Quality: Since this is crowd-sourced data, accuracy and completeness vary by product. Some products may have incomplete nutritional information.
Rate Limits:
- 100 requests/minute for product lookups (by barcode)
- 10 requests/minute for search queries
- No limits on write operations (contributing data)
Geographic Bias: While global, coverage is strongest in Europe (especially France, where the project started) and North America.
API Usage
All API requests are made to https://world.openfoodfacts.org/api/v2.
Commands
Search Products
Search for food products by name or keyword.
Usage:
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_search.sh "search query" [page_size]
Parameters:
search query (required): Keywords to search for (e.g., "chocolate bar")page_size (optional): Number of results (1-100, default: 10)
Example:
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_search.sh "chocolate bar"
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_search.sh "oat milk" 20
Response Format:
Returns a formatted table with:
Get Product by Barcode
Retrieve detailed product information including full nutritional data using a barcode (EAN/UPC).
Usage:
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_product.sh <barcode>
Parameters:
barcode (required): The EAN-13 or UPC barcode number (usually 8-13 digits)
Example:
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_product.sh 5000159325954
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_product.sh 7622210449283
Response Format:
Returns formatted output with:
- Product name and brand
- Packaging and quantity
- Nutritional information per 100g
- Ingredients (when available)
- Allergens and labels
- Nutri-Score (if available)
- NOVA group (food processing classification)
Finding Barcodes
Barcodes (EAN-13, UPC) are typically found:
- On the product packaging, below the barcode lines
- On receipts or invoices
- In grocery store apps after scanning
- On product websites
Barcodes are numeric and usually 8-13 digits long.
Error Handling
Common errors:
- Product not found: Barcode doesn't exist in database
- Rate limit exceeded: Too many requests - wait before retrying
- Malformed barcode: Barcode format is invalid
Workflow Examples
Example 1: Find nutrition for a packaged product
- Find the barcode on the product packaging (12-13 digit number below the barcode lines)
- Lookup the product:
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_product.sh 5000159325954
Example 2: Search for a product type
- Search by name:
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_search.sh "dark chocolate" - Note the barcode from results
- Get full details:
./skills/openfoodfacts/scripts/off_product.sh
Nutri-Score Reference
Products may include a Nutri-Score grade:
- A (dark green): Best nutritional quality
- B (light green): Good nutritional quality
- C (yellow): Average nutritional quality
- D (orange): Poor nutritional quality
- E (red): Worst nutritional quality
NOVA Classification
Indicates level of food processing:
- Group 1: Unprocessed/minimally processed foods
- Group 2: Processed culinary ingredients
- Group 3: Processed foods
- Group 4: Ultra-processed foods
Notes
- Results are formatted for readability (no raw JSON dumps)
- Nutritional values are typically per 100g or per serving
- Ingredients may be listed in multiple languages
- Some products have photos available via the website