Updated 2026-09-16. This page is not legal advice.
What are the three ways to get a nutrition label?
Send the product to a lab, calculate it from a nutrient database, or use software that does the database calculation for you. All three give you the same output: the amount of each required nutrient in one serving. Once you have those amounts, printing the panel is the easy part.
When can I skip the panel?
Check this first. Federal rule 21 CFR 101.9(j) exempts small businesses from nutrition labeling. If you have fewer than 10 employees and sell fewer than 10,000 units of the product a year, you owe no panel at all. A larger exemption, up to 100 employees and 100,000 units, needs a notice filed with FDA each year. The exemption ends the moment your label or listing makes a claim such as “low fat”, “high protein”, or “healthy”. Read do cottage foods need a Nutrition Facts label for the details. Many small makers add a panel anyway because a retail buyer or a market asks for one.
Option 1: send the product to a lab
A food testing lab runs a chemical analysis on a sample of the finished product and reports each nutrient. This is the most accurate route. It is also the slowest and the most expensive. The lab needs a sample of the finished food, usually a few hundred grams, and reports in one to three weeks. You pay per product and per nutrient, so a full Nutrition Facts panel costs more than a calorie count alone. Every recipe change means a new sample.
Choose a lab when the database route cannot predict the result. Fried foods absorb an unknown amount of oil. Fermented foods change sugar into acid and alcohol. Dried and smoked foods lose an unknown amount of water. Search for “nutritional analysis laboratory” plus your state, and ask for a quote for “full Nutrition Facts panel, FDA 2020 format”.
Option 2: calculate it from a nutrient database
FDA accepts calculated values. The rule in 21 CFR 101.9(g) sets the accuracy the finished label must meet, not the method you use to get there. FDA even publishes a guide on building labels from databases.
The free database is USDA FoodData Central. For each ingredient in your recipe, look up the nutrient values per 100 g, multiply by the weight you use, and add the ingredients up. Divide the batch totals by the number of servings. Then adjust for cooking loss: weigh the finished batch, and use the finished weight for grams per serving. The Serving Size Calculator does the division and the FDA rounding once you have the batch totals.
This route is free. It takes an hour or two for the first recipe and gets faster. The risk is a wrong lookup, such as picking cooked rice when the recipe uses raw, or a missing ingredient.
Option 3: use label software
Label software does the database calculation for you. You type the recipe with weights, pick each ingredient from a built-in database, enter the number of servings and the finished weight, and it prints the panel, the ingredient statement, and the allergen line. Most tools charge a monthly subscription. Some charge a one-time fee per product.
Choose software when you have more than a few products, when you change recipes often, or when you also need the ingredient statement in the right order. The calculation is the same as the manual database route, so the same foods that need a lab still need a lab.
How do I check the numbers are legal?
FDA tests a label against the product in 21 CFR 101.9(g). Nutrients you want to be low, which are calories, sugars, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, must be no more than 120 percent of the value on the label. Nutrients you want to be high, such as fiber, protein, and vitamins, must be at least 80 percent of the label value. Rounding follows 21 CFR 101.9(c). Whichever route you use, keep your worksheet or the lab report. That is your evidence if a buyer or an inspector asks.
How do I print the panel?
Take the per-serving values to the free Nutrition Label Maker. It rounds each value, computes the % Daily Value, and prints the 2020 FDA vertical format. If you want to fill a panel in by hand, print the blank Nutrition Facts template. Then read how to print food labels at home for label sheets and printers.