US Nutrition Facts Label
The 2020 FDA format under 21 CFR 101.9: serving size, calories, the required nutrients, %DV and the rounding increments
The 2020 format
FDA finalised the current Nutrition Facts label in 2016. Compliance was required from 1 January 2020 for manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual food sales and from 1 January 2021 for smaller manufacturers. Calories and the serving size are shown in larger, bold type; added sugars are declared in grams and as a percent Daily Value; vitamin D and potassium became required while vitamins A and C became optional; and serving sizes are based on the amounts people actually consume.
Required nutrients and Daily Values
The label declares calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fibre, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium. The percent Daily Value shows how much a nutrient in a serving contributes to a daily diet, with 2,000 calories a day used as the general guide. The Daily Values behind the percentages include 78 g total fat, 20 g saturated fat, 300 mg cholesterol, 2,300 mg sodium, 275 g total carbohydrate, 28 g dietary fibre, 50 g added sugars, 50 g protein, 20 mcg vitamin D, 1,300 mg calcium, 18 mg iron and 4,700 mg potassium.
Rounding increments
21 CFR 101.9(c) fixes how each value is rounded. Calories: to the nearest 5 up to 50 and to the nearest 10 above 50, with less than 5 shown as 0. Total, saturated and trans fat: to the nearest 0.5 g below 5 g and to the nearest 1 g from 5 g, with less than 0.5 g shown as 0. Cholesterol: to the nearest 5 mg, with 2 to 5 mg shown as "less than 5 mg". Sodium and potassium: to the nearest 5 mg up to 140 mg and to the nearest 10 mg above. Carbohydrate, fibre, sugars and protein: to the nearest gram, with less than 1 g shown as "less than 1 g" and less than 0.5 g as 0. The percent Daily Values of these nutrients round to the nearest whole percent; those of vitamins and minerals move in steps of 2, 5 or 10 percent depending on the level.
Layouts
FDA permits several layouts for different package sizes and shapes. The generator offers four: the standard vertical panel, the horizontal (side-by-side) panel for packages with little vertical space, the linear format for very small packages, and the tabular format. All four carry the same 2020 content: the larger calorie display, the added-sugars line, the updated Daily Values and the %DV footnote.