Simplified Display: FDA Nutrition Facts format
Basic format with essential nutrients. 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 Simplified 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 Simplified Display format: Basic format with essential nutrients. 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 simplified nutrition facts label can be used
The simplified format is a voluntary FDA option, in force under 21 CFR 101.9(f), for foods that contain insignificant amounts of eight or more of these: calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium.
Foods for infants through 12 months and children 1 through 3 years have their own test. For them, the simplified format is voluntary when six or more of the nutrients listed for those age groups are present in insignificant amounts.
An "insignificant amount" has a set meaning: an amount that can be declared as zero. For total carbohydrate, dietary fiber and protein it is an amount that can be declared as "less than 1 gram".
Eligibility depends on the food's nutrient profile, not on package size. A food with insignificant amounts of all the nutrients may instead be exempt from nutrition labeling altogether under 21 CFR 101.9(j)(4), as long as it makes no claims.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(f)(1), eCFR.
What 21 CFR 101.9(f) requires on a simplified label
Using the simplified format does not mean leaving everything out. Five declarations are always mandatory under 21 CFR 101.9(f)(2): calories, total fat, total carbohydrate, protein and sodium, even when present only in insignificant amounts.
Any other listed nutrient present in more than an insignificant amount must also be declared. So must vitamins and minerals added under a standard of identity, and vitamins or minerals voluntarily added as nutrient supplements. Other nutrients naturally present in more than insignificant amounts may be declared voluntarily under (f)(3).
The statement "Not a significant source of ___" becomes mandatory at the bottom of the panel if added or voluntary nutrients are declared under (f)(2)(iii), (f)(2)(iv) or (f)(3), or if the label makes a nutrition claim. The blank lists the nutrients present only in insignificant amounts.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(f)(2) to (f)(4), eCFR.
Simplified format layout and type size rules
Apart from the changes in paragraph (f), the simplified panel follows the general format in 21 CFR 101.9(d), or the dual-column rules in paragraph (e) where those apply. The box, hairlines, contrasting background, single easy-to-read type style and highlighting stay mandatory.
The standard type minimums apply on a vertical simplified panel: "Calories" at least 16 point and the calorie number at least 22 point, both bold or extra bold; servings per container and "Serving size" at least 10 point, with the reduced size in (d)(3)(ii) available if serving size does not fit; and nutrient information at least 8 point.
The long Daily Value footnote required in (d)(9) on a standard panel is not required on the simplified format. If the column heading abbreviates "% Daily Value" to "% DV", the statement "% DV = % Daily Value" must appear at the bottom of the label.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(d) and (f), eCFR.
Simplified versus standard and small-package FDA formats
The main difference from the standard vertical label is which nutrients appear. A standard panel lists the full set of mandatory nutrients, while a qualifying simplified panel may drop those present only in insignificant amounts, keeping the five core declarations and adding the "Not a significant source of" statement when required.
The simplified format is not a small-package format. The tabular and linear displays under 21 CFR 101.9(d)(11) and (j)(13) solve space problems, while the simplified format depends only on the nutrient test.
English is mandatory for required label information under 21 CFR 101.15(c), except for products distributed solely in Puerto Rico or another US territory where another language predominates. A label with representations in another language must also give the required information in that language.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9, 21 CFR 101.15, and FDA Small Entity Compliance Guide.
Sources
Primary documents this page was written from, checked 2026-10-03.
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
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How to generate one
- Open the generator: free account, no credit card
- Pick "Simplified 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