Every number on FoodCanEat is traceable to its original source. No recycled content, no guesswork.
Protein, total fat, carbohydrates, sugars, and fiber values for all foods come from the USDA FoodData Central database (SR Legacy and Foundation Foods). This is the gold standard for food composition data in the United States, maintained by the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
fdc.nal.usda.gov →Purine content values (adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and total purines) for U.S. foods come from the USDA and Office of Dietary Supplements–NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2 (March 2025). This is the only comprehensive, laboratory-measured purine database for commonly consumed American foods. Release 2 added 61 newly tested foods using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry.
USDA Purine Database →Supplementary purine data for foods not covered by the USDA database — including nuts, dairy products, certain vegetables, soy products, and alcoholic beverages — are sourced from the Japan Gout and Nucleic Acid Metabolism Society's published measurements. These data represent the second-largest systematically collected purine dataset globally. All Japanese-sourced values are clearly labeled on individual food pages.
Alcohol risk classifications follow the American College of Rheumatology's 2020 Guideline for the Management of Gout. The ACR recommends limiting alcohol intake — particularly beer and spirits — and provides specific consumption limits for wine. All alcohol-related verdicts on FoodCanEat are based on this guideline.
ACR 2020 Guideline →Fructose risk thresholds are calibrated specifically for gout populations, using a stricter standard than the UK Food Standards Agency's general traffic light system. Because fructose independently stimulates uric acid production via the ATP depletion pathway, the gout-specific thresholds are set at <2g/100g (low), 2–5g/100g (moderate), and >5g/100g (high) — roughly twice as strict as the general-population standard.
General dietary guidance and food category recommendations are cross-referenced with Mayo Clinic and Arthritis Foundation patient resources. These are used as secondary references for FAQ content and consumer-facing explanations, not as primary data sources for numerical values.