search_food

Search for common and branded food items.

Server Nutritionix mcp-forge/nutritionix-mcp-server
Category Read
Risk class Low
Parameters 00 required

What search_food does on Nutritionix

AI agents call search_food to retrieve information from Nutritionix without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Why search_food needs a policy

This tool queries the Nutritionix database to retrieve food information. It has no side effects, cannot modify data, and presents no destructive or financial risk. The search returns informational results only, making it a straightforward Read operation with minimal security risk.

From the tool's definition Tool searches for food items with no modification capability. Description states 'Search for common and branded food items' which is a retrieval operation only.

Questions about search_food

What does the search_food tool do? +

Search for common and branded food items. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Nutritionix MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on search_food? +

Register the Nutritionix MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_food: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Nutritionix. Nothing to install.

What risk level is search_food? +

search_food is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit search_food? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the search_food rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block search_food completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for search_food. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides search_food? +

search_food is provided by the Nutritionix MCP server (mcp-forge/nutritionix-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

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