Do you need a Nutrition Facts label?

Not every food seller has to put a Nutrition Facts panel on their product. The federal rules include several exemptions for small sellers, and home-kitchen food is usually covered by your state. Here is how they fit together.

Small retailers: 21 CFR 101.9(j)(1)

A business that sells food to consumers is exempt if it has annual gross sales to consumers of no more than $500,000, or annual food sales to consumers of no more than $50,000. This covers many sellers who make and sell their own products directly, for example at a market stall, a bakery counter or their own shop. The figures are based on recent annual sales.

Low-volume products from small businesses: 21 CFR 101.9(j)(18)

A product can be exempt if the business has an average of fewer than 100 full-time equivalent employees and sells fewer than 100,000 units of that product in the United States over a 12-month period.

• Businesses claiming this exemption generally have to file a notice with the FDA each year.
• A business with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees that sells fewer than 10,000 units of the product does not need to file the notice.
• If you grow past the limits, the regulation gives you 18 months to add a label.

The exemption is per product, so a business can have some exempt products and some that need a label.

Foods of no nutritional significance: 21 CFR 101.9(j)(4)

Foods that contain only insignificant amounts of all the required nutrients, such as coffee beans, tea leaves and flavor extracts, are exempt as long as they make no nutrition claims.

Cottage food is a state question

If you make food in your home kitchen and sell it under a cottage food law, your state sets the rules for what you can sell and what the label must say. Many states require a basic label with the product name, your name and address, ingredients, allergens and a statement that it was made in a home kitchen. Check your state's cottage food program for the exact requirements, including whether nutrition claims change them.

When you will want a label anyway

• You make a claim. "Keto", "low sugar" or "high protein" on your packaging or listing generally ends the exemption.
• You sell wholesale. Grocery stores, cafés and distributors often ask for a Nutrition Facts panel, even when you might be exempt.
• You sell online or ship across state lines. That can take you outside your state's cottage food rules.
• You grow. Passing the sales or unit limits means you will need the panel within the grace period.

Last reviewed November 2026. Based on 21 CFR 101.9 (Nutrition labeling of food). This page is general information, not legal advice; check the current regulation and your state's rules for your product.