FAQ
How do I get access to the Recipe API?
To get access to our Recipe API you must subscribe to one of the plans here. Our Recipe API is separate from our Food API, so you must have a separate subscription for each. You can, however, manage your Recipe API and Food API subscriptions all from ...
Monthly Active Users
A Monthly Active User (MAU) only applies to Premium subscriptions and is defined as a unique user on your platform that accessed data from our API since the start of the current billing period. Let's say you have a barcode scanner in your app, and it ...
API Documentation Help
Get started with our API by heading over to the API Documentation. We recommend that you take some time to learn how our API works then browse our Knowledge Base articles if you're having trouble. If that doesn't help, then feel free to open a ...
How can I get more help?
Please open a support ticket if you weren't able to find an answer to your questions. We would be happy to hear from you!
Do you fill in missing information with information from similar food items?
We do not fill a food item's missing information with information from a similar food. We believe that filling in missing information this way is bad practice and can lead to misinformation and inaccurate data.
What is a rate limit? What are requests per minute?
A rate limit is a limit on the number of times you can make a request to our API within a given time span. Limited and Standard subscribers are limited to the number of requests they can make per minute while Premium subscribers have unlimited ...
Can I cache or store information from your API?
You may not cache OR store any data that you retrieve using our API. You must make a call to our API endpoints EVERY time you wish to get data for a food item or perform a search. Failure to comply may result in immediate termination of your ...
How can I check my API usage?
To check your API usage you must be logged into the Client Center. The Client Center provides a detailed breakdown of all the subscriptions associated with your email address. This includes total API requests, an estimation of your future bill, and a ...
What does attribution mean?
All API subscribers must provide a link back to us or cite us as a source for all data that comes from our database. Please visit our Attribution Guide for information, links, and logos. Please open a support ticket if you are a Premium subscriber ...
What trace ingredients do you track?
Trace ingredients are ingredients that may or may not be in a food item. Most food manufacturers place a warning label on their products if there is a chance that there was a cross contamination with a known allergen or if the product is made on ...
What allergens do you track?
We currently track over 1,000 allergen ingredients across multiple languages. Please open a support ticket if you would like to request a comprehensive list of all the allergens that we track. See our list of the Most Common Allergens for more ...
What diets do you support?
Chomp currently supports vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free diets. We check each and every ingredient against our database to determine if a food item is compatible with each diet. All ingredients that are found to be incompatible with a diet are ...
Do you support browser requests such as AJAX, JSONP, and CORS?
Yes. These types of requests are supported by our system. We recommend reading our API Documentation for more information.
I'm having trouble getting matches for barcodes. What can I do?
A large majority of the barcodes in our database are either GTIN-12 (UPC-A) or GTIN-13 (EAN/UCC-13). However, there are times when all we have for a food item is the GTIN-8 (EAN/UCC-8) or UPC-E barcode. If you are having trouble finding matches for ...
Why am I getting a 500 error?
An API request will return a 500 error if there was an unexpected error. Please review the parameters that you are using to make your API request and try again. Refer to our API Documentation for more information or open a support ticket if you are ...
Why am I getting a 404 error?
An API request will return a 404 error if we weren't able to find the food item you requested. This typically means that your search parameters are not associated with any items in our database. Refer to our API Documentation for more information or ...
Why am I getting a 401 error?
You will receive a 401 error when you have exceeded the maximum number of requests per minute as allowed by your subscription. Please consider upgrading your subscription to receive more requests per minute. Our Premium subscription does not put a ...
Why am I getting a 400 error?
You will receive a 400 error if you make an API request with invalid parameters. A good example is if you were to fill in a parameter with a string where an integer is expected. Refer to our API Documentation for more information or open a support ...
Where did you get your data?
Our data is sourced from food brand owners, multiple third-party platforms, and through manual entry by our team of data analysts. All food item data has to pass a stringent vetting process before it is allowed into our database. Please contact us if ...
How frequently are food items added?
We add new food items to our database each and every day. We keep track of barcode searches throughout our API and search engine that failed to return data. We work from this list to determine which food items are in high demand but are not in our ...
How frequently is data updated?
Our data is updated on a regular basis and is continually audited to ensure accuracy. We make an effort to check for updates for each food item twice a month. We always double check before overwriting an item's existing data with updated data. ...
Can I add another subscription to my account?
Adding an additional subscription to your account lets you create multiple API keys for use across any number of projects. This is particularly helpful if, for example, you are a website development agency and you wish to bill each client separately ...
Can I upgrade/downgrade/change my subscription?
Absolutely! You must be logged into the Client Center to do this, though. Once logged in, simply click the "Manage" button, click the "Manage Subscription" option, then scroll down and click the "Make Changes" button and enter your email address, ...
How do I update my credit card/payment details?
To change your credit card or payment information please log into the Client Center, click the "Manage" button, scroll down and click the "Make Changes" button and enter your OTP (One Time Password), then click the "Payment Methods" button. Please ...
What is your refund policy?
To request a refund please open a support ticket. Refunds, for API subscriptions, are handled on a case-by-case basis but we typically offer a prorated refund for your most recent month of access.
How do I cancel my subscription? Can I cancel at any time?
You can cancel your subscription at any time. Please consider contacting us or visiting our Help Center first. Having trouble getting results for our barcode search API endpoint? This article may help. You can also use our Food Search. Just search ...
I'm having trouble signing in to the Client Center. What do I do?
To sign in to the Client Center you must provide the email address you used when creating your subscription along with your API key, which was sent to your email inbox. Please double check to make sure you are entering this information correctly. ...
How do I find my API key?
Your API key was sent to the inbox of the email address you used to create your subscription. Please look for the email from us in your recent emails or spam folder. If you are signed into the Client Center you will find your API key on the panel ...
How do I log in to manage my account?
When you create your subscription your API key is sent to the inbox of the email address you used. You will need to check your inbox for the email containing your API key then go to our sign in page. From there you simply enter your email address and ...
Do you offer free access or a free trial?
Our API is a paid service and we do not offer completely free access to it. However, the Limited subscription does give you a chance to use our API for very low costs. All new Standard and Premium subscriptions are eligible for a 5 day free trial. ...