FDA's food label rules set most type sizes as a letter height, not a point size. Everything required on the front and information panels is at least 1/16 inch high, measured on a lowercase "o" when lowercase is used. The net quantity gets bigger with the front panel's area, from 1/16 inch on the smallest packages to 1/2 inch on the largest. The statement of identity is bold and in proportion to the biggest print on the front. Nutrition Facts are the exception, set in points: 8 point for the nutrients, 16 for the word "Calories", 22 for the calorie number. Because a lowercase "o" is only about half the height of the point size, 1/16 inch takes roughly 8 to 10 point type. In the example below, a preserves maker turns each minimum into a point size for its typeface. Below is every minimum, how to convert, and a free calculator.
The short version
- Required text on the front and information panels: letters at least 1/16 inch high.
- Height is measured on capitals, or on a lowercase "o" if lowercase is used; numbers in a fraction need half.
- Net quantity: 1/16 to 1/2 inch, by the front panel's area, and bold.
- Statement of identity: bold, in a size reasonably related to the biggest print on the front.
- Allergen Contains statement: no smaller than the ingredient list's type.
- Nutrition Facts: nutrients 8 point, "Calories" 16 point bold, the calorie number 22 point bold, footnotes 6 point.
- A 1/16 inch lowercase "o" is about 9.5 point type in a typeface whose "o" is 48% of its point size.
- TaroStack prints lot labels with GS1-128 barcodes for each batch. More below.
Every minimum on one page
| Item | Minimum | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Anything required on the front or information panel | 1/16 inch | 21 CFR 101.2(c) |
| Statement of identity | Bold, reasonably related to the most prominent print on the front | 21 CFR 101.3(d) |
| Net quantity, front panel 5 sq in or less | 1/16 inch | 21 CFR 101.7 |
| Net quantity, more than 5 up to 25 sq in | 1/8 inch | 21 CFR 101.7 |
| Net quantity, more than 25 up to 100 sq in | 3/16 inch | 21 CFR 101.7 |
| Net quantity, more than 100 up to 400 sq in | 1/4 inch | 21 CFR 101.7 |
| Net quantity, more than 400 sq in | 1/2 inch | 21 CFR 101.7 |
| Allergen Contains statement | No smaller than the ingredient list | 21 U.S.C. 343(w) |
| Nutrition Facts: nutrient names and amounts | 8 point | 21 CFR 101.9(d) |
| Nutrition Facts: "Calories" | 16 point, bold | 21 CFR 101.9(d) |
| Nutrition Facts: the calorie number | 22 point, bold | 21 CFR 101.9(d) |
| Nutrition Facts: footnote, "Amount per serving", "% Daily Value" | 6 point | 21 CFR 101.9(d) |
| Nutrition Facts heading | No smaller than any other print in the label except the calorie number | 21 CFR 101.9(d)(2) |
Letters can't be more than three times as high as they are wide, so a squeezed condensed face won't do for the net quantity, and small packages have their own Nutrition Facts formats with smaller sizes. This is general information, not legal advice.
From inches to points
One inch is 72 points, so 1/16 inch is 4.5 points and 1/8 inch is 9. But a typeface's point size is the height of its whole body, from the top of the tallest letter to the bottom of the lowest, and a lowercase "o" is only part of that, often around half. So:
Smallest point size = required height in points ÷ the typeface's x-height share.
To find the share, print a line of your typeface at 20 point, measure a lowercase "o" with a ruler or calipers, and divide by 20 points' worth of inches (0.278 inch). A 0.133-inch "o" is a 48% share. Round up, and check the printed proof with a ruler, because printers and labels shrink.
An example: a jar of preserves
Old Mission Preserves, a made-up preserves maker in Traverse City, Michigan, I use in these examples, uses a typeface whose lowercase "o" is 48% of its point size and whose capitals are 70%:
| Item | Minimum height | In points | ÷ 48% | Smallest size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net quantity, 9 oz jar, front panel 10.5 sq in | 1/8 inch | 9 | 18.75 | 19 point |
| Net quantity, gift box, front panel 28 sq in | 3/16 inch | 13.5 | 28.1 | 28.5 point |
| Ingredients, name and address | 1/16 inch | 4.5 | 9.4 | 9.5 point |
| Contains statement | as the ingredients | 9.5 point |
The jar's net quantity, "Net Wt 9 oz (255 g)", needs 19 point type in lowercase, which surprises people setting a small label: written in capitals, "NET WT 9 OZ (255 G)", it would need 9 ÷ 70% = 13 point. The ingredient list at 9.5 point is larger than a designer might start with. How the front panel's area is measured is in the principal display panel rules, and what else goes on the label in food labeling requirements for small business. Whether the jar needs Nutrition Facts at all is in nutrition label small business exemption.
Get the calculator
Download the food label font size calculator. One sheet: each required item with its rule and its minimum, as a letter height or a point size, and whether it's measured on a lowercase "o", on capitals, or in points. Type your typeface's x-height and cap height as shares of its point size, and the smallest point size for each item fills in, rounded up to the half point. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The calculator gets the label right once. After that, the label is printed and stuck on jars by the hundred, with a lot code and a best-by date added at filling, often by hand, often in whatever size fits. The date and lot have to be readable too, and a handwritten code on a lid is where labels go wrong.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack prints lot labels with GS1-128 barcodes for each batch.
Each batch its lot. A batch of preserves records the lots it consumed and gets a lot of its own with its best-before date, the code and date that go on the lid.
Printed, not handwritten. Lot labels print with GS1-128 barcodes, or as a ZPL file for Zebra printers, so the case and lid labels carry a readable lot and date at a size you set once. How lot codes go on packages is in lot number on food packaging.
Where each lot went. Each order records the lots each customer got as it ships, so if a label is ever wrong, one recall report shows which stores have that lot.
| The job | By hand | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Lot and date on the lid | Written in pen | Printed from the batch |
| Case labels | Handwritten | GS1-128 lot labels |
| Which stores have a lot | Search the invoices | One recall report |
Lots, lot labels and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.