The stress of creating a Nutrition Label for each food product can be daunting for both large corporations and small at-home businesses. 

The risk of selling products that fail to be FDA compliant is a real concern for food companies, which should take the necessary steps to prevent this scenario from causing a food recall on their product(s). 

Food labeling is a serious process because its credibility impacts the food business and consumers critically. This post will discuss details about listing ingredients on a food label and its impact on consumers and the food business. 

Critical Food Label Listing Practices 

Food manufacturers and companies are required to list every ingredient used in their food products for the safety and well-being of consumers who buy and consume their products.

The ingredients section is located below the Nutrition Facts information on the label.

Order of Ingredients

On a food label, ingredients are listed in order of predominance; ingredients used in the most significant amount (overall weight) are listed first, and then the lesser-used ingredients are listed in descending order from there. The ingredients list is not in the order of addition to the recipe. Remember, this list is based on weight alone, not volume. 

Use Common Names

Ingredients should also appear in their common names. Use terms like salt instead of sodium chloride and sugar instead of sucrose. Ingredient lists are supposed to make understanding nutrition easier, not more complicated, so keep this section as easy to read as possible. 

Include Sub-Ingredients

Sub-ingredients within an ingredient must follow the ingredient itself and appear between parentheses. 

For example, on a cookie dough label, the sub-ingredients in “Vegetable Shortening” get listed after that item. They include palm oil, soybean oil, and beta carotene. 

On an FDA-compliant list, it would read like this: Vegetable Shortening (palm oil, soybean oil, beta carotene). It’s a simple method for consumers to understand every individual ingredient in a food product. 

These approaches to food labeling are designed to ensure that consumers are first and foremost aware of the main ingredients in any product they purchase and intend to consume or feed to their families. 

Achieve Transparency with Food Label Stickers

As you create food labels for your products within LabelCalc, you also gain access to a standard database sourced directly from the USDA. 

Our standard database includes over 300,00 ingredients. This includes all sorts of generic food items such as eggs, milk, butter, meats, produce, and more. You can also utilize the Branded Ingredient Database, a third-party database filled with over 200,000 different branded items. 

Furthermore, LabelCalc makes creating FDA-compliant and transparent nutrition labels and ingredient lists easy. Establish and maintain your customers’ trust by remaining transparent with your ingredient lists to help them make informed decisions for a better, healthier life. 

Use Nutrition Analysis Software to Create an FDA-Approved Nutrition Fact Label

Take nutrition back into your hands using LabelCalc’s easy-to-use nutritional software. Luckily, the software remains consistent no matter what size your business is. The program is highly effective and straightforward to run — plus, we’ve never had any product recalls! You read that right — over 30,000 food products analyzed, and not one single recall. 

Take the guesswork of keeping up with all the FDA regulations and rules. Create a standard expectation your consumers can rely on and ensure you stay compliant. Customers can make a safe, informed choice, knowing they can trust your labeling process. Learn more about LabelCalc here.