US FDA Nutrition Label Requirements for Small Producers

Understand FDA nutrition label requirements for small producers, common mistakes, and a practical workflow to generate labels in Nutrifax.

Quick answer

If you sell packaged food in the US, you may need a Nutrition Facts label under FDA rules unless a specific exemption applies.

To stay operationally safe, you need:

  • accurate per-serving nutrition values
  • correct US Nutrition Facts panel format
  • consistent serving size definitions
  • a repeatable way to regenerate labels after recipe changes

Who this applies to

  • small packaged food brands
  • home-based producers selling into US channels
  • farmers market and local retail vendors
  • e-commerce sellers with packaged products

Why producers struggle

  • exemptions are confusing and often misunderstood
  • serving size assumptions drift between recipe versions
  • manual spreadsheets are hard to maintain and audit
  • formatting and rounding details are easy to miss

Practical checklist before printing

  • confirm your final recipe and quantities
  • set your real serving size (how customers will consume it)
  • run per-serving calculations against final formulation
  • generate a US-format panel
  • do a physical print/readability check
  • save calculation/export records for future updates

Common mistakes

  • using "close enough" values from another product
  • failing to regenerate after formula edits
  • switching serving assumptions without recalculation
  • using Canada panel format for US products
  • publishing a label with no traceable source process

What to do in Nutrifax

  1. Build/import your recipe in the builder.
  2. Verify ingredient matches and units.
  3. Set servings/yield fields.
  4. Generate the US label format.
  5. Export PDF/PNG and run a test print.
  6. Optionally export audit report records for traceability.

Related pages

Sources

Disclaimer

This page is educational and not legal advice. Confirm requirements for your product and jurisdiction.

Start now

  • Primary CTA: Generate your nutrition label in Nutrifax
  • Secondary CTA: Create an inspection-ready audit report

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