Dual Column Display: FDA Nutrition Facts format
Per serving and per container. An FDA Nutrition Facts layout under 21 CFR 101.9, generated free with correct rounding and Daily Values.
Reviewed against 21 CFR 101.9 (Nutrition labeling of food) · Page updated September 16, 2026
Nutrition labelling requirements for Dual Column Display
Packaged food sold in the United States must carry a nutrition declaration under 21 CFR 101.9 (Nutrition labeling of food). This page covers the Dual Column Display format: Per serving and per container. A compliant nutrition label declares 15 mandatory nutrients: calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin d, calcium, iron and potassium. Values are declared per serving, with serving sizes set by the racc tables in 21 cfr 101.12, with energy in kcal, and sodium rather than salt. The panel is headed "Nutrition Facts". English is required on pack. There is no mandatory front-of-pack warning scheme. NFL builds a print-ready nutrition label from your recipe, applying the rounding rules and reference intakes for the United States automatically, and exports it as PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG or EPS.
Official regulation
Key facts
When the dual-column Nutrition Facts label is mandatory
Dual-column labeling is mandatory under 21 CFR 101.9(b)(12)(i), in force, for a product that is packaged and sold individually and contains at least 200 percent and up to and including 300 percent of the applicable Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC), unless an exception applies. The first column gives the values per serving and the second gives the values for the entire package.
The same mandatory rule applies to a discrete unit, such as a large muffin or bagel, that weighs at least 200 percent and up to and including 300 percent of its RACC under 21 CFR 101.9(b)(2)(i)(D). Here the first column covers the serving that approximates the RACC and the second covers the whole unit.
Below that range the logic changes. An individually packaged product with more than 150 percent but less than 200 percent of the RACC is labeled as a single serving, and under 21 CFR 101.9(b)(6) a voluntary extra column may be added on the left for the household measure closest to the RACC.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(b), eCFR.
Exceptions to the FDA dual-column requirement
The in-force exceptions in 21 CFR 101.9(b)(12)(i) take some products out of mandatory dual columns. The main one covers small packages: those with less than 12 square inches available for labeling, and those with 40 square inches or less that cannot fit a vertical or tabular panel on any label panel. To rely on it, the package must meet the small-package format conditions in 21 CFR 101.9(j)(13)(ii)(A).
Other exceptions cover specified foods and situations, including certain raw fruits, vegetables and seafood, products that already carry a voluntary column for the food as prepared or as consumed with another food, labels showing values for different population groups, popcorn with a per-cup-popped column, and certain varied-weight products.
A voluntary per-unit column does not cancel a mandatory dual-column requirement. If 21 CFR 101.9(b)(12)(i) applies independently, the per-package column is still required.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(b)(12), eCFR, and FDA guidance on serving sizes and dual-column labeling.
Layout and type size rules for the dual-column display
The dual-column format is set out in 21 CFR 101.9(e)(6)(i) and is mandatory in that form when dual columns are required. Each column needs its own heading saying what it represents, such as "Per serving" and "Per container", and each column must show calories, the quantitative amounts and the percent Daily Values for the required nutrients.
The vertical dual-column panel follows the standard type size minimums, which are mandatory: "Calories" at least 16 point and the calorie numbers at least 22 point, both in bold or extra bold, servings per container and "Serving size" at least 10 point, and nutrient information at least 8 point.
When there is not enough vertical space, FDA's tabular dual-column format in 21 CFR 101.9(e)(6)(ii) is in force as an alternative. In that layout "Calories" may be 10 point and serving size 9 point, while the calorie numbers stay at 22 point.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(d) and (e)(6), eCFR.
How the dual-column format differs from the standard vertical label
A standard vertical label gives one set of values for one serving. A dual-column label adds a second, mandatory set of values for the whole package or unit, so a consumer who eats the entire bag or bottle can see the total without doing the arithmetic.
The trigger is how much food is in the package compared with the RACC, not the physical size of the package. Package dimensions only matter for the small-package exception.
Dual columns per container are different from the voluntary dual declarations in 21 CFR 101.9(e), such as as-packaged and as-prepared columns, and from the aggregate display for variety packs in (d)(13). English is mandatory for the required information under 21 CFR 101.15(c), with the Puerto Rico and US territory exception, and a label with representations in another language must also give the required information in that language.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9 and 21 CFR 101.15, eCFR.
Sources
Primary documents this page was written from, checked 2026-10-03.
- 21 CFR 101.9, Nutrition labeling of food (eCFR)
- 21 CFR 101.15, Food; prominence of required statements (eCFR)
- FDA, Guidance for Industry: Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed at One Eating Occasion, RACCs, Serving Size-Related Issues, Dual-Column Labeling, and Miscellaneous Topics
- FDA, Examples of Different Label Formats Using the New Nutrition Facts Label
- FDA, Industry Resources on the Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label
How NFL handles it
- Applies the correct rounding rules for every nutrient
- Uses the right Daily Value / Reference Intake table for this jurisdiction
- Renders the required front-of-pack warnings automatically when thresholds are hit
- Handles multilingual labels where required (bilingual EN/FR, EN/ES, Arabic + EN, etc.)
- Exports print-ready vector PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG, and EPS
Deep dives
Common questions
Related formats
Free tools for this label
All 51 free tools, no signup required.
How to generate one
- Open the generator: free account, no credit card
- Pick "Dual Column Display" from the format rail
- Enter your ingredients (search USDA FoodData Central or add a custom ingredient)
- The label renders live; export in one click