Research
Six analyses of USDA's food data, each leading with its finding, with its method and limits stated and its table as CSV to reuse (CC BY 4.0).
Data: USDA FoodData Central, April 30, 2026 release.
How many packaged foods are "low sodium"?
183,448 of 396,217 packaged products (46%) are at or under FDA's "low sodium" line per labeled serving: 140 mg or less (per 50 g as well when the serving is 30 g or less), or per 100 g for meal and main-dish products. FDA tests per reference amount, which most labeled servings follow; the count is not a finding that any label complies. In the frozen breakfast sandwiches aisle it is 0%, in bacon 0% and in frozen pizza 0%; in 16 of 68 aisles it is 90% or more.
How much sugar is in yogurt, by style?
Across 5,381 yogurts in USDA's branded database, flavored regular yogurt has the most sugar, a median of 11.1 g per 100 g; plain plant-based yogurt the least, 0.7 g. Weighted by products, flavored yogurts carry about 10.2 g per 100 g against 4.2 g for plain ones.
How many serving sizes does one kind of food have?
In the frozen meals aisle, 4,952 products declare 346 different serving sizes: one in ten is 113 g or less and one in ten 312 g or more. The most common size, 255 g, is on 11% of labels. Comparing two products per serving can mean comparing different amounts of food; per 100 g, it cannot.
How much protein is in products named "protein"?
5,620 packaged products put "protein" in their name. Their median is 15.0 g of protein per serving; 4,644 (83%) reach 10 g, FDA's "high in protein" line before its protein-quality correction, and 99 (2%) have under 5 g, below even a "good source". In cookies, 58% reach 10 g.
Packaged foods against USDA reference foods of the same kind
Matched kind for kind, packaged foods and USDA's reference foods are closer than the gap between "processed" and "whole" suggests: in 11 of 17 kinds the median sodium per 100 g is within 10%. The widest gaps: packaged cereal has 314 mg against 456 mg in USDA's reference records, and packaged butter 607 mg against 487 mg.
Calorie density by USDA food group
Fats and Oils have the highest calorie density of USDA's food groups, a median of 717 calories per 100 g; vegetables and vegetable products the lowest, 35 calories. Of vegetables, 93% are very low or low density (under 1.5 calories a gram), and so are 88% of fruits.
Source: USDA FoodData Central, April 30, 2026 release.