Artisanal Solutions / Guides / Food Label Requirements for Small Producers

Resources

Food label requirements for small producers

US label rules come from the FDA, and from the USDA for meat and poultry. Your state adds cottage food rules. These are the elements a packaged food label needs.

Get a plan and a priceSee the picks

The short answer

A packaged food label needs a statement of identity, the net quantity, an ingredient list, an allergen declaration, the name and address of the maker, and a nutrition facts panel unless you qualify for the small business exemption.

What the label needs

  1. Statement of identity and net quantity

    What the product is, plus the net quantity on the front panel in both ounces and grams.

  2. Ingredient list

    Ingredients in descending order by weight, with sub-ingredients in parentheses.

  3. Allergen declaration

    A declaration for the nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.

  4. Name and address

    The name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor.

  5. Nutrition facts panel

    Required unless you qualify for the small business exemption (under 100,000 units and 100 employees, filed annually with the FDA) and make no nutrient claims.

  6. Claims

    Claims like organic, gluten-free, raw or local each have their own rules. Organic requires certification above $5,000 in sales.

  7. Software or a lab

    Software like ReciPal or LabelCalc produces a compliant panel from your recipe for most products. Fermented, fried or highly variable products sometimes need a lab analysis.

Where to go next

  • Best recipe costing and label software

    ReciPal, Genesis R&D, LabelCalc and more, compared for small makers.

    Read the comparison

  • Have costing and labels set up for you

    Costed recipes, FDA-format nutrition panels and print-ready label files.

    See the solution

  • FDA food labeling guide

    The source for the federal rules.

    Open fda.gov

Want one of these set up for you?

Tell us what you make. We send back a short plan and a price.

Get a plan and a price

How it works

  1. Tell us what you make

    What you make and what you use now. A spreadsheet and a Square account is a fine answer.

  2. Get a short plan

    Keep this, replace that, connect these, and the cost.

  3. We set it up

    Setup and migration done for you. You approve before anything goes live.

  4. Run it or hand it off

    Take it from there yourself or keep us on for the upkeep.

Questions

What has to be on a food label?

A statement of identity, the net quantity in ounces and grams, an ingredient list in descending order by weight, an allergen declaration, the name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor, and a nutrition facts panel unless you are exempt.

Do small food businesses need a nutrition facts panel?

Not if you qualify for the small business exemption (under 100,000 units and 100 employees, filed annually with the FDA) and make no nutrient claims.

Which allergens must be declared on a label?

The nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.

Can I call my product organic?

Organic requires certification above $5,000 in sales. Claims like gluten-free, raw or local each have their own rules too.

Get a plan and a price

Tell us what you make and what you use today. A spreadsheet and a Square account is a fine answer. We reply by email with what we would keep, what we would change and what it costs.

The newsletter for artisans, makers and farmers

Tools worth using, shipping and labeling how-tos, and what is working for other small producers. Email only, unsubscribe any time.

Related

All solutions