General Information
- 1. What is the Child Nutrition Database (CNDB)?
The CNDB is a nutrient database of foods for use in the school meal programs, including products produced for and sold to school food service. The CNDB includes nutrient data for the following 19 nutrients/components: calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, potassium, iron, ash, total sugars, added sugars, and moisture. The CNDB includes nutrient data from: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR) Legacy Release; USDA Standardized Recipes; and food manufacturers, including USDA Foods in Schools, published to the USDA Global Branded Food Products Database (Branded Foods) through GS1 GDSN®. The CNDB is a required part of the nutrient analysis software approved by USDA for use in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.
- 2. Which products should be submitted for the CNDB?
We encourage all food/beverage products that are produced for and sold to K-12 schools to be published to the CNDB. This includes, but is not limited to, processed foods with a Child Nutrition label and USDA Foods in Schools products with an active USDA Foods contract.
- 3. Where can I access the CNDB?
The CNDB is published on FoodData Central site on the CNDB page.
- 4. What is the difference between the Branded Foods Database and the CNDB?
The CNDB includes foods and beverages produced for and sold to K-12 schools and incorporates manufactured foods and beverages intended for school food service from the Branded Foods Database. Products that are published to Branded Foods and have the trade channel, “Child Nutrition Food Programs” will be published to the CNDB. Branded Foods is publicly available at https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/.
Entering/Submitting Data in GS1 GDSN®
- 5. How do I submit products for the CNDB?
When your product data is entered into GS1 GDSN® through a data pool provider, both “GLN 0861583000302 (USDA)” and the trade channel “Child Nutrition Food Programs” must be selected in order for your data to be published to the CNDB. See the “Guide to Successful Publishing” for detailed information about publishing to CNDB. Contact cnpntab@usda.gov for a copy of this guide.
- 6. What is a playlist and where do I find it?
A playlist is a template of the data required for a specific recipient of data from GS1 GDSN® through a data pool provider. Ask your data pool provider if they have a playlist for USDA Global Branded Food Products Database. If you use 1WorldSync, you can find the playlist in the top menu under “Item Name.” The playlist for the CNDB through Branded Foods is “USDA.” The attributes for all playlists selected will be shown in the left menu.
- 7. Where do I find the “trade channel” field?
The “trade channel” field is located under the “Purchasing and Delivery” attribute set. You can also type “trade channel” in the search field of the attribute set window on the left-hand side. Be sure to select “Child Nutrition Food Programs” for the trade channel to publish to the CNDB. You may select more than one trade channel.
Note: The location of this field may differ depending on data pool provider.
- 8. What should I submit for the “Product Description” field?
When entering the product description, enter the name that is shown on the product label or box. Do not include extra information such as marketing language or meal pattern contributions.
- 9. What should I use for "Nutrient Basis Quantity Type" field?
For every item published, there needs to be a “Nutrient Basis Quantity Type” and the associated “Nutrient Basis Quantity” to show the amount of product which the nutrient data being provided is based upon, such as “per 100 grams” or “per ½ cup”. The nutrient values entered must be for the “Nutrient Basis Quantity Type” and “Nutrient Basis Quantity” entered.
For the CNDB, use only one of the following for the “Nutrient Basis Quantity Type”:
- By Measure—Provide the nutrients per 100 basis of weight (100 gram [GRM] or 100 milliliter [MLT]). Note: Use only GRM or MLT units of measure if you select “By Measure.”
- By Serving—Provide the nutrients per serving size. Note: The serving size entered must match a serving size provided under the “Serving size” field. At least one serving size must be provided using grams (GRM), milliliters (MLT), or ounces (OZI or OZA) for weight.
A product can have more than one set of nutrient information. Each set would have a different Nutrient Basis. Different receivers of the product information may utilize the different sets of information for various solutions.
- 10. Is the serving size (label or household measure) required?
Yes, a serving size is required for Branded Foods and the CNDB. Please provide a label or household-type serving size, such as 0.5 cup, 10 pieces, 1 patty, 1 bowl, etc. You must provide at least 1 serving size with grams, ounces, or milliliters. Note that label or household serving sizes are most helpful for school users as it allows them to match this to the product they are using and avoid making conversions from weight measures.
Note: You can provide more than one serving size per food item.
- 11. How do I remove or mark an item as discontinued from the CNDB?
When the product is discontinued, we recommend you both remove the trade channel AND add the discontinued date. Remove the trade channel “Child Nutrition Food Programs” for items to be removed from the CNDB. These items may still appear in Branded Foods. If the product is discontinued from the market and will no longer be produced, you should enter the date the product is discontinued in the “discontinuedDate” or “endAvailabilityDate” fields.
- 12. When will the data entered in my data pool provider be included in Branded Foods and the CNDB?
After you successfully publish your data in your data pool provider’s site, it takes 1–2 months for the data to appear in Branded Foods, depending on when your data is entered. The CNDB is updated monthly on the same schedule as Branded Foods. Vendors may publish and provide updates to their product data at any time. The CNDB update will include the most recent data provided to GS1 GDSN® through the Branded Foods Global Location Numbers (GLN) with trade channel “Child Nutrition Food Programs.”
Publishing Data for USDA Foods to the CNDB
- 13. What is the difference between the two USDA Global Location Numbers (GLNs)?
“GLN 0861583000302 (USDA)” is for the USDA Global Branded Food Products Database (Branded Foods). Manufacturers who sell food and beverages to school food service who would like their data included in the CNDB should publish to this GLN.
“GLN 0861583000319 (USDA – FNS)” is for the USDA Foods Database for USDA Foods in Schools. If you are an approved USDA Foods supplier with an active USDA contract to supply USDA Foods in Schools products, you are required to publish to this GLN, as indicated in the AMS Master Solicitation for Commodity Procurement.
If you are not an existing USDA Foods supplier, do not publish to this GLN. To learn more about this requirement, visit: https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food/gs1-gdsn-requirement. Manufacturers who are required to publish to GS1 GDSN® for the USDA Foods Database are encouraged to also publish to the Branded Foods GLN for inclusion in the CNDB.
- 14. How do I publish to GS1 GDSN® for both the USDA Foods Database (USDA – FNS) and CNDB through Branded Foods (USDA)?
You may publish your data to more than one GLN in GS1 GDSN®. All foods and beverages published to the USDA Foods GLN (USDA – FNS), may also be published to the Branded Foods GLN (USDA). To publish to the CNDB, the trade channel “Child Nutrition Food Programs” is also required. Products can also be published to other organizations such as distributors, school systems, retailers, etc.
- 15. What is the FNS Material Number or USDA Foods Material Code (WBSCM#)?
The FNS Material Number or USDA Foods Material Code (WBSCM#) is the 6-digit unique identifier that specifies each USDA Foods product. If you are a USDA Foods supplier and also publish for the CNDB, the WBSCM# will automatically publish to the CNDB.
Correcting Errors and Additional Help
- 16. How do I know if I provided the required attributes for the CNDB/Branded Foods database?
After inputting your data for your foods in your data pool provider’s site, click “validate” to ensure the correct attributes have been provided. If there is missing or incorrect data, you will see error and warning messages. Please address all errors and warnings to ensure successful publication.
- 17. What are the different types of errors and warnings?
Error messages relate to missing required data. These must be fixed before the product can be published successfully.
A “Warning” message is not an error, but a recommendation. You are still able to publish your data with warning messages. While these recommendations do not have to be addressed for publication, you are encouraged to address them to provide a more robust set of product data. Read the messages carefully to determine if it is required or recommended. If you have questions about the messages from your data pool provider, please contact them to ensure your data can be published.
- 18. How do I check my data after it is published?
From your home dashboard, you can view the status of your published items. If there are any synchronization errors, your data will not be published.
You may check if your submitted products have been submitted correctly to the CNDB within the Branded Foods section of FoodData Central. Search for your product within the search field. Be sure to filter on the “Child Nutrition Food Programs” trade channel. If your products appear, then they should be included in the next release of the CNDB, as long as the required nutrients are included and the data passes the quality control checks.
Please note, products published to Branded Foods will not appear in the database until the subsequent month (e.g., if published before May 1, data will be in Branded Foods in the May update, which occurs mid-month, if published after May 1, it will appear in Branded Foods with the June update).
- 19. What are Catalogue Item Confirmation (CIC) messages and how does one respond to them?
CIC messages from your data pool provider are errors and warnings shown on the provider dashboard. Errors result when required data is missing or incorrect and must be fixed before you are able to publish your data. The item can be saved with warnings and the publisher will receive a CIC message. Errors must be corrected before you can successfully publish your data. Warnings do not have to be addressed for publication.
- 20. Who should I contact when I have issues with submitting/publishing data?
First, contact your data pool provider if you have questions about the data entry for your products to be published to the CNDB. Be sure to read the CIC messages from the data pool provider and address errors. 1WorldSync works directly with Branded Foods and the CNDB and is most familiar with the needs for these databases. Please reach out to the 1WorldSync at: technicalsupport@1worldsync.com. Contact the CNDB team at cnpntab@usda.gov if you require additional assistance.