Some foods in the food database have abbreviated descriptions. Here is a list of of the abbreviations used:
| All Purpose | ALLPURP |
| Aluminum | AL |
| And | & |
| Apple | APPL |
| Apples | APPLS |
| Applesauce | APPLSAUC |
| Approximate | APPROX |
| Approximately | APPROX |
| Arm and Blade | ARM&BLD |
| Artificial | ART |
| Ascorbic Acid | VIT C |
| Aspartame | ASPRT |
| Aspartame-sweetened | ASPRT-SWTND |
| Babyfood | BABYFD |
| Baked | BKD |
| Barbequed | BBQ |
| Based | BSD |
| Beans | BNS |
| Beef | BF |
| Beverage | BEV |
| Boiled | BLD |
| Boneless | BNLESS |
| Bottled | BTLD |
| Bottom | BTTM |
| Braised | BRSD |
| Breakfast | BRKFST |
| Broiled | BRLD |
| Buttermilk | BTTRMLK |
| Calcium | CA |
| Calorie, calories | CAL |
| Canned | CND |
| Carbonated | CARB |
| Center | CNTR |
| Cereal | CRL |
| Cheese | CHS |
| Chicken | CHICK |
| Chocolate | CHOC |
| Choice | CHOIC |
| Cholesterol | CHOL |
| Cholesterol-free | CHOL-FREE |
| Chopped | CHOPD |
| Cinnamon | CINN |
| Coated | COATD |
| Coconut | COCNT |
| Commercial | COMM |
| Commercially | COMMLY |
| Commodity | CMDTY |
| Composite | COMP |
| Concentrate | CONC |
| Concentrated | CONCD |
| Condensed | COND |
| Condiment, condiments | CONDMNT |
| Cooked | CKD |
| Cottonseed | CTTNSD |
| Cream | CRM |
| Creamed | CRMD |
| Dark | DK |
| Decorticated | DECORT |
| Dehydrated | DEHYD |
| Dessert, desserts | DSSRT |
| Diluted | DIL |
| Domestic | DOM |
| Drained | DRND |
| Dressing | DRSNG |
| Drink | DRK |
| Drumstick | DRUMSTK |
| English | ENG |
| Enriched | ENR |
| Equal | EQ |
| Evaporated | EVAP |
| Except | XCPT |
| Extra | EX |
| Flank steak | FLANKSTK |
| Flavored | FLAV |
| Flour | FLR |
| Food | FD |
| Fortified | FORT |
| French fried | FRENCH FR |
| French fries | FRENCH FR |
| Fresh | FRSH |
| Frosted | FRSTD |
| Frosting | FRSTNG |
| Frozen | FRZ |
| Grades | GRDS |
| Gram | GM |
| Green | GRN |
| Greens | GRNS |
| Heated | HTD |
| Heavy | HVY |
| Hi-meat | HI-MT |
| High | HI |
| Hour | HR |
| Hydrogenated | HYDR |
| Imitation | IMITN |
| Immature | IMMAT |
| Imported | IMP |
| Include, includes | INCL |
| Including | INCL |
| Infant formula | INF FORMULA |
| Ingredient | ING |
| Instant | INST |
| Juice | JUC |
| Junior | JR |
| Kernels | KRNLS |
| Large | LRG |
| Lean | LN |
| Lean only | LN |
| Leavened | LVND |
| Light | LT |
| Liquid | LIQ |
| Low | LO |
| Low Fat | LOFAT |
| Marshmallow | MARSHMLLW |
| Mashed | MSHD |
| Mayonnaise | MAYO |
| Medium | MED |
| Mesquite | MESQ |
| Minutes | MIN |
| Mixed | MXD |
| Moisture | MOIST |
| Natural | NAT |
| New Zealand | NZ |
| Nonfat Dry Milk | NFDM |
| Nonfat Dry Milk Solids | NFDMS |
| Nonfat Milk Solids | NFMS |
| Noncarbonated | NONCARB |
| Not Further Specified | NFS |
| Nutrients | NUTR |
| Nutrition | NUTR |
| Ounce | OZ |
| Pack | PK |
| Par fried | PAR FR |
| Parboiled | PARBLD |
| Partial | PART |
| Partially | PART |
| Partially fried | PAR FR |
| Pasteurized | PAST |
| Peanut | PNUT |
| Peanuts | PNUTS |
| Phosphate | PO4 |
| Phosphorus | P |
| Pineapple | PNAPPL |
| Plain | PLN |
| Porterhouse | PRTRHS |
| Potassium | K |
| Powder | PDR |
| Powdered | PDR |
| Precooked | PRECKD |
| Preheated | PREHTD |
| Prepared | PREP |
| Processed | PROC |
| Product code | PROD CD |
| Propionate | PROP |
| Protein | PROT |
| Pudding, puddings | PUDD |
| Ready-to-bake | RTB |
| Ready-to-cook | RTC |
| Ready-to-drink | RTD |
| Ready-to-eat | RTE |
| Ready-to-feed | RTF |
| Ready-to-heat | RTH |
| Ready-to-serve | RTS |
| Ready-to-use | RTU |
| Reconstituted | RECON |
| Reduced | RED |
| Reduced-calorie | RED-CAL |
| Refrigerated | REFR |
| Regular | REG |
| Reheated | REHTD |
| Replacement | REPLCMNT |
| Restaurant-prepared | REST-PREP |
| Retail | RTL |
| Roast | RST |
| Roasted | RSTD |
| Round | RND |
| Sandwich | SNDWCH |
| Sauce | SAU |
| Scalloped | SCALLPD |
| Scrambled | SCRMBLD |
| Seed | SD |
| Select | SEL |
| Shank and sirloin | SHK&SIRL |
| Short | SHRT |
| Shoulder | SHLDR |
| Simmered | SIMMRD |
| Skin | SKN |
| Small | SML |
| Sodium | NA |
| Solids | SOL |
| Solution | SOLN |
| Soybean | SOYBN |
| Special | SPL |
| Species | SP |
| Spread | SPRD |
| Standard | STD |
| Steamed | STMD |
| Stewed | STWD |
| Stick | STK |
| Sticks | STKS |
| Strained | STR |
| Substitute | SUB |
| Summer | SMMR |
| Supplement | SUPP |
| Sweet | SWT |
| Sweetened | SWTND |
| Sweetener | SWTNR |
| Teaspoon | TSP |
| Thousand | 1000 |
| Toasted | TSTD |
| Toddler | TODD |
| Uncooked | UNCKD |
| Uncreamed | UNCRMD |
| Undiluted | UNDIL |
| Unenriched | UNENR |
| Unheated | UNHTD |
| Unprepared | UNPREP |
| Unspecified | UNSPEC |
| Unsweetened | UNSWTND |
| Variety, varieties | VAR |
| Vegetable, vegetables | VEG |
| Vitamin A | VIT A |
| Vitamin C | VIT C |
| Water | H20 |
| Whitener | WHTNR |
| Whole | WHL |
| Winter | WNTR |
| With | W/ |
| Without | WO/ |
| Yellow | YEL |