Small food businesses—bakeries, sauce brands, meal prep companies, and ghost kitchens—often need nutrition labels but may not know where to start. Here’s a practical overview of FDA requirements and how to meet them.
FDA 2016 Label Format
The FDA updated Nutrition Facts requirements in 2016. Labels must include:
- Serving size and servings per container
- Calories (bold, larger type)
- Macronutrients: Total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein
- Vitamins and minerals: Vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium (and others in certain cases)
Formatting, font sizes, and layout are specified by the FDA. Using a nutrition label generator that follows FDA rules ensures your labels meet these requirements.
Small Business Exemptions
The FDA provides exemptions for very small businesses. Generally, you may be exempt if:
- You have fewer than a certain number of full-time equivalent employees, and
- Your food sales are below a specified dollar threshold
Exact numbers are in FDA regulations (21 CFR 101.9(j)). Even if exempt, many small businesses choose to add labels to build consumer trust and prepare for growth.
Practical Steps for Small Businesses
- Determine if you’re exempt using FDA guidance and your sales/employee numbers.
- If you need labels, use a recipe-based nutrition label generator. LabelAgent turns recipes into FDA-compliant labels using the USDA database—ideal for small batches and custom products.
- Update labels when recipes change. Nutrition values must reflect the actual product.
Tools That Help
Online nutrition label generators can save small businesses time and cost. Look for tools that:
- Use the USDA FoodData Central database
- Apply FDA rounding rules
- Support recipes, PDFs, and photos as input
LabelAgent is built for food teams that need speed and accuracy without hiring a nutritionist for every recipe change.