Transparency
How WhoMadeMyFood uses USDA data
This page explains the public datasets behind WhoMadeMyFood, how establishment numbers are matched, and what the current USDA-only coverage does not include.
USDA FSIS Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection Directory
Establishment pages come from the official USDA FSIS Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection Directory. That directory lists federally inspected meat, poultry, and egg product establishments in the United States. WhoMadeMyFood imports the published directory, stores a canonical facility record, and shows the establishment name, USDA identifiers, and facility address when the source provides them.
USDA FSIS Recall API
Recall pages come from the official USDA FSIS Recall API. The importer stores the public notice identity, title, date, classification, and related public fields. English and Spanish notices that share the same official recall number become one canonical record. WhoMadeMyFood does not invent recall text.
Canonical matching
Each imported FSIS directory row is matched to one canonical establishment by official USDA identifiers first, then by the existing source-record mapping. Names and addresses are not used to merge facilities. If identifiers already belong to two different establishments, the row is quarantined instead of being silently combined.
Establishment-number lookup
Public search looks up typed USDA marks such as M, P, G, I, and V, and also accepts generic EST numbers. A generic EST match is shown only when every matching typed grant belongs to one establishment. Search can also use company name, city, or state. Search result URLs are not indexed.
Recall linking rules
A recall is linked to a plant only when the official notice names a USDA establishment number that matches a canonical identifier. The page then says the notice is associated with that establishment. WhoMadeMyFood does not say the plant caused the recall. If no matching identifier exists, the recall page is still published and the plant section is omitted.
Generic EST handling
Some notices mention EST without a grant letter. Those values are stored, but they create a plant link only when they resolve to exactly one canonical establishment. Ambiguous generic numbers stay unmatched.
Foreign identifier jurisdiction
If a notice attributes an establishment number to another country, WhoMadeMyFood records that jurisdiction and does not look the number up in the USDA FSIS directory. Foreign identifiers are not treated as USDA plants.
Update methodology
Directory and recall imports are run against an official snapshot, archived, and published into canonical tables. Later snapshots update the same establishments and recalls in place. Historical recall notices are retained after they leave a later source snapshot. Public pages show a snapshot date only when a published import recorded one.
Current limitations
WhoMadeMyFood currently covers USDA FSIS regulated meat, poultry, and egg product establishments and official FSIS recall notices. It does not yet include FDA-regulated foods, retail brand ownership, product-level manufacturing, sampling results, or consumer alerts beyond the official FSIS record. Finding an establishment number does not by itself prove which exact product was made there.
Related pages: methodology principles, data sources, and corrections.