Product Opener API

Complete API documentation for Product Opener - the core web server and database system powering Open Food Facts

The Product Opener API provides programmatic access to the core web server and database system that powers Open Food Facts and its sibling projects (Open Beauty Facts, Open Pet Food Facts, and Open Products Facts). This comprehensive API enables developers to interact with the world's largest open food database.

Product Opener is the heart of the Open Food Facts ecosystem, managing product data, user contributions, and powering the main web interface that millions of users interact with daily.

Authentication

Most read operations are publicly accessible. For write operations and user-specific data, you'll need to authenticate using the Open Food Facts authentication system.

API Versions

The Product Opener API is available in multiple versions:

API v2 (Legacy)

The original API version that provides backward compatibility and basic product data access.

API v3 (Current)

The latest API version with enhanced features, better performance, and comprehensive data access.

Key Features

Core Capabilities

The Product Opener API enables you to:

Retrieve comprehensive product information including ingredients, nutritional data, labels, and categories

Add new products, update existing information, and upload product images

Search products by various criteria including barcode, name, brand, categories, and nutritional values

Access aggregated data for research, analysis, and application development

Supported Projects

Product Opener powers multiple Open *Facts projects:

  • Open Food Facts: The main food product database
  • Open Beauty Facts: Cosmetics and personal care products
  • Open Pet Food Facts: Pet food and care products
  • Open Products Facts: General consumer products

Data Standards

Product Opener follows open data standards and provides:

  • Open Data: All data is freely available under the Open Database License
  • Standardized Categories: Uses standardized taxonomies for ingredients, labels, and categories
  • Multilingual Support: Product data available in multiple languages
  • Rich Metadata: Comprehensive product information including environmental impact

Getting Started

To begin using the Product Opener API:

  1. Explore the API: Start with read-only operations to understand the data structure
  2. Authentication: Set up authentication for write operations
  3. Choose API Version: Select between v2 (legacy) or v3 (recommended) based on your needs
  4. Integration: Integrate the API into your application or research project

Rate limiting is applied to prevent abuse. For high-volume applications, consider implementing caching and following API best practices.

API References