Foods highest in Iron per 100 g (USDA)
The USDA food records with the most iron per 100 g, with the share of the 18 mg Daily Value.
- Unit:
- mg per 100 g
- Daily Value:
- 18 mg
- Datasets:
- Foundation Foods, SR Legacy and FNDDS
Iron carries oxygen in hemoglobin and myoglobin. USDA reports total iron as an element and does not separate heme iron, found in meat, fish and poultry, from non-heme iron in plants, eggs and fortified foods. The Daily Value is 18 mg.
Dried thyme, cumin, spirulina, fortified cereals, liver and clams lead the list. Red meat, beans and dark leafy greens rank lower per 100 g; the greens and legumes also carry compounds that reduce how much of their iron is absorbed.
Top 100 foods by Iron per 100 g
13,513 of 13,621 Normal catalog records report this nutrient (Foundation Foods: 369/397 · SR Legacy: 7,713/7,793 · FNDDS: 5,431/5,431). Records without a value are not ranked.
How to read this ranking
Values from fortified products depend on the amount added by the manufacturer at the time USDA recorded it. Absorption differs between heme and non-heme sources and is not reflected in the ranking.
Values are USDA amounts per 100 g of edible portion, ordered as reported; this is information, not dietary advice. Methodology