A packaged food label usually shows the product name, the ingredient list from largest to smallest by weight, allergens, net quantity, the name and address of the business, a use-by or best-before date, a batch code and storage instructions. Depending on the product and the market, it may also need nutrition information and front-of-pack warnings. The exact rules change from country to country, so check your local labelling rules with your food standards authority before you print.
The elements of a label
These are the usual elements. Use them as a checklist, not as legal text:
- Product name: what it is, in plain words. "Smoked chilli hot sauce", not only your brand name.
- Ingredient list: everything that goes in, largest to smallest by weight.
- Allergens: ingredients that cause allergic reactions, easy to spot.
- Net quantity: how much product is inside, in grams or millilitres.
- Who made it: business name and address.
- Date: use-by or best-before.
- Batch code: a code that tells you which production run the pack came from.
- Storage: "Refrigerate after opening", "Store in a cool, dry place".
- Nutrition information and warnings: where your local rules require them.
The batch code and date change with every run; the rest does not. That is why many small producers print the fixed label in volume and add the batch code and date with a stamp or a small sticker. You do not reprint everything each week.
The ingredient list comes from your recipe
If you already have a standard recipe card by weight, you have your ingredient list. Sort the ingredients from largest to smallest weight as they go into the recipe. Use names a customer would recognise ("onion", not "item 3").
If you use a compound ingredient you buy ready-made, such as a jam or a spice blend, its own label lists its ingredients. Keep that label: you need it to declare the ingredient properly and to catch allergens.
Allergens
Allergens are what matters most to a customer with an allergy. Common ones include wheat and other cereals with gluten, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, shellfish and sesame. The official list where you sell may include others. If any of them is in your recipe, make it visible on the label.
What can pass from one product to another in your kitchen matters too. If you make wheat brownies and a gluten-free bake on the same bench, there is a risk of cross-contact. The guide on food safety basics covers separating tools and surfaces.
Local rules decide the details
Which elements are mandatory, the minimum text size, how allergens must be highlighted, whether you need a nutrition panel and whether front-of-pack warnings apply all depend on where you sell. Some markets exempt very small producers or food sold direct; others do not. Check your local labelling rules with your food standards authority, and if you sell across borders, check each market.
If you need a nutrition panel or want to know whether a warning applies, start by working out the nutrition information from your recipe. For registration and permits, see permits and registration.
Worked example: from recipe to label
You make a smoked chilli hot sauce. One batch:
| Ingredient | Grams | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Red chillies | 500 | 50.0% |
| Cider vinegar | 300 | 30.0% |
| Carrot | 100 | 10.0% |
| Onion | 60 | 6.0% |
| Garlic | 25 | 2.5% |
| Salt | 15 | 1.5% |
| Total | 1,000 | 100% |
Each percentage is the ingredient's grams ÷ 1,000. For example, onion: 60 ÷ 1,000 = 6.0%.
The list reads: Ingredients: red chillies, cider vinegar, carrot, onion, garlic, salt. None is among the common allergens.
The batch fills 6 bottles of 150 g, so 6 × 150 = 900 g. The 100 g missing from 1,000 is lost in cooking, blending and bottling. The net quantity you declare is 150 g, and each bottle needs to hold that.
The cost of the label. A roll of 500 printed labels costs $60.00: $60.00 ÷ 500 = $0.12 per bottle. That amount belongs in the packaging and label cost of each unit.
The cost of a mistake. After using 120 labels you notice the net quantity is wrong. The remaining 380 are useless:
- Labels lost: 380 × 0.12 = $45.60
- New roll: $60.00
- Total: 45.60 + 60.00 = $105.60
If a bottle sells for $8.00 and its loaded cost is $2.50, each sale leaves you 8.00 − 2.50 = $5.50. To earn back $105.60 you need to sell 105.60 ÷ 5.50 = 19.2 bottles, so 20 bottles, more than three batches. A first run of 100 labels would have limited the damage, even if each label cost a bit more.
The date is a decision too
A use-by or best-before date is not a guess. It comes from how long your product lasts under normal conditions, and that has to be tested. A date that is too long is a risk to the customer; one that is too short makes you throw away good product. The guide on shelf life and the cost of unsold stock explains how to think about it, and operations and records shows how the label fits into the rest of your system.
Do it with the calculator
In the food cost calculator, add the label's cost per unit to "Packaging and label per unit", so the price of each bottle already covers it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need nutrition information on my label?
It depends on where you sell, what the product is and sometimes how big your business is. Check your local labelling rules with your food standards authority before you print.
What order do ingredients go in?
From the largest to the smallest by weight in the recipe. That is the standard way to list them; confirm the exact format your local rules require.
How many labels should I print the first time?
A small run, until the recipe and the information are settled. A big run is cheaper per label, but if anything changes, the leftovers go in the bin.
How do I handle the batch code and date if they change every week?
Print the fixed part of the label in volume and add the batch code and date with a stamp or a small sticker. That way you do not reprint the whole label for each batch.