FDA Nutrition Label Requirements

What Are FDA Label Requirements?

The FDA requires most packaged foods sold in the United States to display a Nutrition Facts label that follows strict formatting and content rules defined in 21 CFR 101.9. These rules cover which nutrients must be listed, how numbers should be rounded, and what font sizes are required. The current requirements were updated in 2016 with compliance dates in 2020-2021.

The 15 Mandatory Nutrients

The FDA requires 15 nutrients on the standard Nutrition Facts label: Calories, Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Total Carbohydrate, Dietary Fiber, Total Sugars, Added Sugars, Protein, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.

Vitamins A and C are no longer mandatory because deficiencies are now rare in the US population. Added Sugars was a major addition: manufacturers must distinguish naturally occurring sugars from those added during processing.

Each nutrient must be declared in the specified unit and with its % Daily Value based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

The 15 FDA Rounding Rules

Every nutrient value must be rounded according to specific FDA rules:

| Nutrient | Rounding rule | | --- | --- | | Calories | under 5 ? 0; 50 or less ? nearest 5; above 50 ? nearest 10 | | Total Fat | under 0.5g ? 0; under 5g ? nearest 0.5g; 5g+ ? nearest 1g | | Trans Fat | under 0.5g ? must display 0; 0.5g+ ? nearest 1g | | Sodium | under 5mg ? 0; 5-140mg ? nearest 5mg; 140mg+ ? nearest 10mg | | Protein, carbs, fiber, sugars | under 0.5g ? 0; under 1g ? "Contains less than 1g"; 1g+ ? nearest 1g |

NutriSpec applies all 15 rules automatically.

5 Label Formats: When to Use Each

1. Standard Vertical: Default format when there is enough vertical space (used on most packages).
2. Tabular (Side-by-Side): For variety packs and multi-product packages.
3. Linear (Horizontal): Required when the package has less than 40 square inches for labeling.
4. Simplified: For foods with insignificant amounts of 8+ mandatory nutrients (coffee, tea, spices).
5. Dual Column: For packages with 2-3 servings that could reasonably be consumed at once.

Serving Sizes and RACC

Serving sizes are based on Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACCs). The FDA defines RACCs for 138 food categories. A cookie has a RACC of 30g. A beverage has a RACC of 240mL (8 fl oz).

Manufacturers must use the RACC unless they can justify a different amount. The 2016 update increased several RACCs to reflect actual consumption patterns.

NutriSpec includes the complete RACC database with fuzzy keyword matching.