Nutrition label font & size requirements

Inside the Nutrition Facts panel

• Minimum 8-point type for the panel's information on standard packages, in a single easy-to-read style, black (or one color) on a white or neutral contrasting background.
• “Nutrition Facts” is set no smaller than any other type on the panel, in highly visible bold spanning the panel's width. 101.9(d)(2) makes one exception: the Calories numeral is allowed to be larger, and on the standard vertical panel it is.
• Calories get special prominence since the 2016 redesign. The calorie number is the biggest numeral on the label (FDA's specimen sets it around 22 pt with a 16 pt “Calories” heading on the standard format).
• Rules (the black bars) are part of the spec. The thick 7–8 pt bars above “Amount per serving” and the vitamin section, and hairlines between nutrients, are required graphic elements, not decoration.
• Small packages may use the tabular or linear format, but only on the conditions in 101.9(j)(13)(ii): tabular where the label has 40 in² or less of surface available for labeling, and linear only where that surface is under 12 in², or 40 in² or less and the package shape or size cannot take a vertical or tabular panel. Those formats carry lower type floors — the “Calories” heading drops to 10 point, and its numeral to 14 point in the linear display — but legibility requirements still apply.

The FDA's specimen labels use Helvetica, and Helvetica/Arial-class faces are the near-universal convention. Technically the rule demands a single, highly legible type style rather than one named font, but if you stray from the specimen look, expect questions from reviewers and buyers.

The rest of the label: the 1/16-inch rule

Outside the panel, required statements (ingredient list, allergen declaration, your name and address) must be at least 1/16 inch tall (21 CFR 101.2(c)), and 101.7(i)(2) is explicit about how that is measured: for mixed-case text it is the lower case “o” that has to meet the minimum, not the cap height. That is a much bigger type size than it sounds — an x-height of 1/16 in works out to roughly 8.5 to 9 point in Helvetica or Arial, whose lower case runs about 0.52 of the em. Setting 6-point type leaves the “o” near 1/23 in, well under the rule. Measure the printed letter rather than trusting the point size, since x-height varies between faces. Cramped, decorative, or low-contrast type that defeats legibility can render a label misbranded even at the right size.

Cottage-food labels: your state can demand more

The 1/16-inch rule is a floor, not the whole answer. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia set their own minimum point size for the home-kitchen disclosure, and most are stricter than the federal floor. California requires 12-point type for “Made in a Home Kitchen” (Cal. Health & Safety Code 114365.2(e)(1)); Washington, Michigan and Montana require 11 point; a dozen more require 10 point. Georgia goes further and prescribes the face as well — Times New Roman or Arial, at least 10 point, in a contrasting colour (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 40-7-19-.09(1)(b)). A disclosure set to clear 1/16 inch lands near 8.7 point and misses every one of them, so check your own state's figure before printing. The cottage label maker sizes that line from your state automatically and tells you what it prints at.

Net weight has its own size ladder

The net quantity statement scales with your package's principal display panel area. See the net weight guide for the ladder.