Problem with Different Units for Food in FatSecret API

[reyhane tpour]

I've noticed something weird with the FatSecret API that I wanted to share with you all. It's about how the units for certain foods are different between the Recipe API and the Food API.

So, when you look up a recipe using the Recipe API (get by Id v2), let's say for "Fettuccini Alfredo Sauce" with ID 42929, one of the ingredients listed is "Butter (Salted)" and it says you need "1 stick butter." But when you try to find that exact unit in the Food API (get by id v4) using the ID 33681 for "Butter (Salted)," it's nowhere to be found.

This makes it tricky for developers like us to get accurate nutrition info for recipes because the units in the recipe don't match up with what's available in the Food API.

[seba...@fatsecret.com]

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. All recipe ingredients (including their serving size options) are derived from food items from the respective FatSecret food database of that given country.

Can you please double check you are looking up food items from the same country that the recipe was published in? 

For example, US recipe ingredients are made up from our US foods hence the nutritional values but also serving size options will match.

That said, there is currently a very small number of recipes where a particular serving size option from a given local food has recently been retired due to that serving size option being very uncommon/hardly being used. These food items will be cleaned up in the coming weeks and replaced by an alternate, corresponding serving size (with the same weight and nutritional values as the one that has been retired).

Happy to assist further.

Kind regards,

The FatSecret Platform API Team

[reyhane tpour]

Hi there,

I appreciate your efforts to maintain accuracy in the recipes and ingredients sourced from the FatSecret food database.

I understand that you mentioned there's a very small number of recipes affected by serving size options being retired. However, I've come across quite a significant number of instances where this issue arises. For instance, in the Marinated Flank Steak recipe (ID: 2733495), the Extra Virgin Olive Oil is listed with a serving size of "1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil," but the available units for the corresponding food ID (283520) are limited to tsp, tbsp, and 100g. Similarly, in the Spicy Steak Chili recipe (ID: 1986885), the Beef Chuck is specified as "1lb," yet the available units for the associated food ID (37712) are oz, 100g, and 1 steak.

These examples highlight a broader concern I've encountered across various recipes. Despite setting my region to the US in all APIs, I consistently encounter discrepancies like these. I've noticed similar issues across different categories of ingredients as well.

I am currently using Premier Free account. Is there a timeline or plan in place to address these discrepancies and ensure that users like myself have access to accurate information across all recipes?

Thank you once again for your assistance and attention to this matter.

Kind regards, Rey