Tabular Display: FDA Nutrition Facts format
Table format for easy comparison. 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 Tabular 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 Tabular Display format: Table format for easy comparison. 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 tabular display Nutrition Facts label is allowed
The tabular display is an in-force FDA alternative to the vertical Nutrition Facts panel under 21 CFR 101.9(d)(11)(iii). It may be used when the package does not have enough continuous vertical space, about 3 inches, to fit the required Nutrition Facts components down through the mandatory potassium declaration.
Its use is voluntary once that condition is met, but the condition is real. FDA treats the tabular display as a solution to a space problem, not as a styling option, so a package that can hold the vertical panel should carry the vertical panel.
No product category qualifies automatically. A snack bar wrapper, a short wide carton and a shallow tray can all qualify for the same reason: they lack the height, not because of what they contain.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(d)(11)(iii), eCFR.
Choosing between vertical, tabular and linear FDA formats
FDA's formats work as a sequence, and each step is in force only when the one before it does not fit:
- the standard vertical panel under 21 CFR 101.9(d) is the default;
- the tabular display under (d)(11)(iii) follows when vertical space is short, on a package of any size;
- for packages with 40 square inches or less available for labeling, the small-package tabular display under (j)(13)(ii)(A)(1) is allowed when neither the vertical panel nor the regular tabular display fits, and it permits smaller type and abbreviations;
- the linear display under (j)(13)(ii)(A)(2) comes last, only for those small packages that cannot take a tabular display.
Packages with less than 12 square inches available for labeling may leave the panel off entirely, provided they make no nutrient content or health claims and give an address or telephone number for nutrition information.
What 21 CFR 101.9 requires on a tabular label
The tabular display changes the arrangement, not the content. Every nutrient, amount and percent Daily Value that is mandatory on the vertical panel stays mandatory, in the same order of declaration.
The heading, servings information, serving size and calories sit in a block on the left, and the nutrient rows continue across the panel in columns. The box, hairlines, contrasting background, single easy-to-read type style and bold highlighting required by 21 CFR 101.9(d)(1) remain mandatory. The heading does not have to span the full width of the panel, which is a specific exception for the tabular display in (d)(2).
The mandatory type size minimums in the regular tabular display are 10 point for the word "Calories", 22 point for the calorie number, 9 point for "Serving size" with an 8 point fallback, 10 point for servings per container, and 8 point for nutrient information.
Tabular display versus the standard vertical label
On a vertical panel the word "Calories" must be at least 16 point. The tabular display lowers that to 10 point and allows "Serving size" at 9 point, which is what makes a shallow horizontal panel workable. The 22 point calorie number does not change, because the reduced 14 point figure belongs only to the small-package tabular and linear formats.
FDA also has related tabular layouts with their own rules: a tabular dual-column format in 21 CFR 101.9(e)(6)(ii) for products that need per-serving and per-package columns, and the voluntary aggregate display in (d)(13) for variety packs. Each has its own conditions, so check which provision a design relies on before reducing any type size.
The English language rule in 21 CFR 101.15(c) is mandatory for tabular labels as for every format, with an exception for products distributed solely in Puerto Rico or another US territory where another language predominates. A label that makes representations in another language must give all required information in that language as well.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9 and 21 CFR 101.15, eCFR.
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
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 "Tabular 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