As a food manufacturer, you know your food labels must comply with FDA guidelines for nutrition information. And while these guidelines are important in providing transparency about your products so consumers can make educated decisions, the rules can be overwhelming and complicated to navigate.
For a busy food manufacturer with a million things to do, it can be frustrating to take time out of your day to sift through FDA documents—especially when they are about topics as dry and as potentially confusing as the FDA’s rounding rules. While having a standard for how to round nutritional values is undoubtedly important for the sake of consistency, actually doing the work can be a little tedious. After all, almost every value on the nutrition facts panel has to be rounded differently.
In hopes of making things easier for you and saving you time, I’ve outlined the basic rounding guidelines for your nutrition facts panel in the simplest terms so you know what the FDA expects. And although it isn’t as simple as rounding up or down to the nearest unit for each value, adhering to the rounding guidelines doesn’t need to be difficult.
Recent FDA Rounding Rules Changes
Most forms of nutritional analysis will give you unrounded values with decimal points, but for the sake of concision and consistency, all values must be rounded. In 2016, the FDA updated its rule to add a requirement that shows an actual amount (in mg or mcg) for mandatory vitamins and minerals in the nutrition facts panel (including Vitamin D, Potassium, Calcium, and Iron) in addition to optional vitamins (including Vitamins A and C, Folate, Zinc, and more).
FDA Rounding Rules for Nutrients
Below are the specific rounding rules for each part of the Nutrition Facts panel.
| Nutrient | Rounding Rule | Insignificant Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Calories Calories from Fat Calories from Saturated Fat | Fewer than 5 calories per serving, round down to zero. 50 or fewer calories per serving, round to the nearest 5 calorie increment (i.e. 42 rounds to 40). More than 50 calories per serving, round to the nearest 10 calorie increment (i.e. 106 becomes 110). | Less than 5 calories |
| Total Fat Saturated Fat Trans Fat Polyunsaturated Fat Monounsaturated Fat | Less than 0.5 grams, round down to 0 (i.e. 0.48 becomes 0). Between 0.5 and 5 grams, round to the nearest half gram (i.e. 4.38 rounds to 4.5). 5 grams and above, round to the nearest whole gram (i.e. 78.73 rounds to 79). | Less than 0.5 grams |
| Cholesterol | Less than 2 mg, round to 0. Between 2-5 mg, show as less than 5 mg. Greater than 5 mg, round to nearest 5 mg. | Less than 2 mg |
| Sodium Potassium | Less than 5 mg per serving, round down to zero. Between 5 and 140 mg per serving, round to the nearest 5 increment (i.e. 66 becomes 65). Greater than 140 mg, round to the nearest 10 increment (154 becomes 150). | Less than 5 mg |
| Total Carbohydrate Dietary Fiber Sugars | Less than 0.5 grams per serving, round down to 0. Less than 1 gram per serving, state “less than 1 gram.” 1 gram or more, round to the nearest whole gram ( i.e. 21.25 becomes 21). | Less than 1 g |
| Soluble and Insoluble Fiber Sugar Alcohol Other Carbohydrate | Less than 0.5 grams per serving, round down to 0. Less than 1 gram per serving, state “less than 1 gram.” 1 gram or more, round to the nearest whole gram ( i.e. 21.25 becomes 21). | Less than 0.5 g |
| Protein | Less than 0.5 gram, round to 0. Less than 1 gram, state "less than 1 gram or round to 1 gram). Greater than 1g, round to the nearest 1 gram. | Less than 1 g |
| For nutrients other than vitamins and minerals that have RDIs as a % DV | round to the nearest 1% DV increment | Less than 1% DV |
| Vitamins & Minerals (% DV) Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron | A vitamin or mineral value with less than 2% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI), it can be expressed in the following four ways: Zero 10% or less of the RDI for any vitamins or minerals, round to the nearest 2% increment (i.e. 5 rounds to 6). Between 10% and 50% of the RDI for any vitamins or minerals, round to the nearest 5% increment (i.e. 23 rounds to 25). 50% or higher of the RDI for any vitamins or minerals, round to the nearest 10% increment (i.e. 106 rounds to 110). | Less than 2% RDI |
| Servings per Container | Less than 2 servings per container, should be a single serving per container Between 2 and 5 servings per container, round to the nearest half serving (i.e. 3.23 rounds to 3). Over 5 servings per container, round to the nearest whole serving (i.e. 6.6 servings rounds to 7). |
Note: For values that are exactly halfway between two whole numbers or higher, round up. For values less than halfway between two whole numbers, round down. This applies to both gram and % DV increments.
Updated FDA Rounding Rules for Vitamins and Minerals
In 2016, the FDA updated its rounding rules to require the display of specific quantities (in mg or mcg) for essential vitamins and minerals on nutrition panels.
The tables provided in this article are sourced from the FDA’s “Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels: Questions and Answers Related to the Compliance Date, Added Sugars, and Declaration of Quantitative Amounts of Vitamins and Minerals: Guidance for Industry,” published in 2018 and revised in 2019.
The table below offers guidelines on how to declare the amounts of vitamins and minerals on labels for adults and children aged 4 and above. These guidelines can also be applied to infants, young children, and pregnant or lactating women based on their specific RDIs.
| Nutrient | Recommended Increments |
|---|---|
| Vitamin A | Nearest 10 mcg |
| Vitamin C | Nearest mg |
| Calcium* | Nearest 10 mg |
| Iron* | Nearest .1 mg |
| Vitamin D* | Nearest .1 mcg |
| Vitamin E | Nearest .1 mg |
| Vitamin K | Nearest mcg |
| Thiamin | Nearest .01 mg |
| Riboflavin | Nearest .01 mg |
| Niacin | Nearest .1 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | Nearest .01 mg |
| Folate | Nearest 5 mcg |
| Vitamin B12 | Nearest .01 mcg |
| Biotin | Nearest .1 mcg |
| Pantothenic acid | Nearest .1 mg |
| Phosphorus | Nearest 10 mg |
| Iodine | Nearest mcg |
| Magnesium | Nearest 5 mg |
| Zinc | Nearest .1 mg |
| Selenium | Nearest mcg |
| Copper | Nearest .01 mg |
| Manganese | Nearest .01 mg |
| Chromium | Nearest .1 mcg |
| Molybdenum | Nearest .1 mcg |
| Chloride | Nearest 10 mg |
| Potassium* | Nearest 10 mg |
| Choline | Nearest 10 mg |
Note: * indicates mandatory vitamin/mineral that must be mentioned on your nutrition facts label.
Which Business Sectors Are Impacted?
- Packaged Foods: Companies producing canned, frozen, dried, and pre-packaged foods.
- Beverages: Manufacturers of soft drinks, juices, bottled water, and other non-alcoholic beverages.
- Baked Goods: Producers of bread, pastries, cookies, and other baked products.
- Dairy Products: Companies producing milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy items.
- Confectionery: Manufacturers of candies, chocolates, and other sweets.
- Snack Foods: Producers of chips, nuts, popcorn, and similar snack items.
- Cereal and Grain Products: Companies producing breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, and other grain-based products.
- Prepared and Convenience Foods: Producers of ready-to-eat meals, frozen dinners, and other convenience food items.
These sectors must adhere to the FDA’s guidelines for rounding nutritional information on labels to ensure consistency and accuracy for consumers.
How Online Nutrition Analysis Software Makes Rounding Easier
While it is true that the rounding rules can be overwhelming, there is an easy way to ensure you’ve rounded every value on your nutrition facts panel properly. Online nutrition analysis software, like LabelCalc, can instantly round all the values on your panel according to the rules listed above. It also allows you to view the unrounded values if that is of interest or importance to you. All you have to do is enter your recipe using a USDA-approved ingredient database and determine your serving size, then a complete nutrition facts panel with neatly rounded values is instantly generated. It will also create an ingredient list and allergen statement which you can customize to your liking.
Not only can this rounding function save you a lot of time and tedious work when creating your nutrition label, but FDA-compliant software will also ensure that everything on your label—from the values to the label size and layout—is accurate and up to date with the latest FDA labeling guidance. And as a food manufacturer, you know that providing consumers with accurate nutrition information for the food products you create is one of your greatest responsibilities.
If you have any questions about our trusted software solution, email Tracy Herb, Product Owner – LabelCalc, at tlherb@datacor.com. To get a quote or request a demo, visit https://labelcalc.com/contact-us/.