21 CFR 101.9(d), (e), (f) and (j)(13)
FDA nutrition label formats
There are six Nutrition Facts formats, and five of them are exceptions you have to qualify for. The standard vertical panel is the default; the tabular and linear displays are space concessions; dual-column is mandatory in one package-size band; simplified is for foods that are mostly nothing; and the small-package display is for 40 square inches or less. Each is rendered below from the same recipe.
The decision, in one table
| Format | When it applies | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| standard vertical | Always available. Every other format is an exception to this one. | 101.9(d) |
| tabular | Available when there is not roughly three inches of continuous vertical space for the standard panel up to and including the potassium line. | 101.9(d)(11)(iii) |
| linear | Only when a tabular display will not fit: packages with less than 12 square inches of labelling surface qualify, as do packages of 40 square inches or less whose shape or size cannot accommodate a standard vertical or tabular display on any panel. | 101.9(j)(13)(ii)(A)(2) |
| dual-column | Required when a package contains at least 200% and up to and including 300% of the reference amount customarily consumed — the range where people plausibly eat the whole thing in one sitting. | 101.9(e)(6)(i), (b)(12)(i) |
| simplified | Available when the food contains insignificant amounts of eight or more of the fifteen listed nutrients. | 101.9(f) |
| small package | Available when the total surface area available to bear labelling is 40 square inches or less. Packages under 12 square inches with no nutrition claims may be exempt from nutrition labelling altogether under 101.9(j)(13)(i). | 101.9(j)(13)(ii)(A)(1) |
The same cookie, six ways
One recipe — 36 chocolate chip cookies — rendered in every format. The nutrient values are identical in all six; what changes is what fits, what may be abbreviated and what may be left out.
standard vertical
The default. Use it unless the package physically cannot fit roughly three inches of continuous vertical space.
21 CFR 101.9(d)
tabular
For packages with no tall panel: the heading block sits on the left and the nutrients run in columns beside it.
21 CFR 101.9(d)(11)(iii)
linear
One running string of text. The most constrained format there is, and the hardest to qualify for.
21 CFR 101.9(j)(13)(ii)(A)(2)
dual-column
Per serving and per container side by side. Required, not optional, on a lot of the sizes small producers actually sell.
21 CFR 101.9(e)(6)(i), (b)(12)(i)
simplified
A short panel for foods that are mostly nothing — sugar, salt, spices, oils, hard candy.
21 CFR 101.9(f)
small package
A compressed tabular panel for packages of 40 square inches or less — the jam jar, the single-serve bar, the sample pack.
21 CFR 101.9(j)(13)(ii)(A)(1)
How to choose in practice
Work down the list. Does the standard vertical panel fit on a panel of the package with roughly three inches of continuous vertical space? Use it. If not, is there room for a tabular display? Use that. Only if neither fits, and the labelling surface is 40 square inches or less, does the linear string become available.
Then check the two overrides. If the package holds between 200 and 300 percent of the reference amount for your category, dual-column is mandatory regardless of what else fits — work out your reference amount from the serving size reference. And if eight or more of the fifteen listed nutrients are present in insignificant amounts, the simplified format is available and will make a much cleaner label.
Frequently asked questions
- How many Nutrition Facts label formats are there?
- Six that a small producer will meet: standard vertical, tabular, linear, dual-column, simplified and the small-package display. The standard vertical in 21 CFR 101.9(d) is the default and every other one is an exception with a stated condition — a space constraint, a package size, a nutrient profile or a container that holds a particular multiple of the reference amount.
- Can I just pick the format I like the look of?
- No. Each alternative format has a condition in the regulation and you have to meet it. The tabular display needs the standard panel not to fit in roughly three inches of continuous vertical space. The linear string additionally needs the tabular display not to fit. The dual-column is not a choice at all — it is mandatory in a defined package-size band.
- Which format is mandatory rather than optional?
- Dual-column. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(12)(i) requires it when a package contains at least 200 percent and up to and including 300 percent of the reference amount customarily consumed — the sizes people plausibly finish in one sitting. Below 200 percent the whole container is a single serving; above 300 percent normal per-serving labelling applies.
- Do the type-size minimums change between formats?
- Yes. A standard panel uses at least 16 point for 'Calories' and a 22 point numeral. An ordinary tabular panel may use 10 point for 'Calories', while its numeral remains 22 point and its servings statement remains 10 point. 'Serving size' and its amount may use 9 point bold. Tabular and linear small-package displays may use 10 point for 'Calories' with a 14 point numeral and 9 point serving text. Nutrient rows remain at least 8 point; headings and the footnote may use 6 point.
Keep going
- serving size referenceAll 146 reference amounts customarily consumed from 21 CFR 101.12(b), the table that decides your serving size.
- nutrition facts label generatorBuild the panel from a recipe: USDA nutrient data, 21 CFR 101.9 rounding, six formats, PNG, SVG and PDF.
- FDA rounding rulesEvery rounding increment in 21 CFR 101.9, quoted, with worked examples and an interactive check.
- cottage food label guideWhat a cottage-food label needs, what the small-business exemption does and does not cover, and where the panel becomes mandatory.
- nutrition facts label templateFree reference layouts for six FDA Nutrition Facts formats, downloadable as PNG, SVG and PDF.