(a) Nutrition information relating to food shall be provided for all products intended for human consumption and offered for sale unless an exemption is provided for the product in paragraph (j) of this section.
(1) When food is in package form, the required nutrition labeling information shall appear on the label in the format specified in this section.
(2) When food is not in package form, the required nutrition labeling information shall be displayed clearly at the point of purchase (e.g., on a counter card, sign, tag affixed to the product, or some other appropriate device). Alternatively, the required information may be placed in a booklet, looseleaf binder, or other appropriate format that is available at the point of purchase.
(3) Solicitation of requests for nutrition information by a statement "For nutrition information write to ___________ " on the label or in the labeling or advertising for a food, or providing such information in a direct written reply to a solicited or unsolicited request, does not subject the label or the labeling of a food exempted under paragraph (j) of this section to the requirements of this section if the reply to the request conforms to the requirements of this section.
(4) If any vitamin or mineral is added to a food so that a single serving provides 50 percent or more of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for the age group for which the product is intended, as specified in paragraph (c)(8)(iv) of this section, of any one of the added vitamins or minerals, unless such addition is permitted or required in other regulations, e.g., a standard of identity or nutritional quality guideline, or is otherwise exempted by the Commissioner, the food shall be considered a food for special dietary use within the meaning of 105.3(a)(1)(iii) of this chapter.
(b) Except as provided in 101.9(h)(3), all nutrient and food component quantities shall be declared in relation to a serving as defined in this section.
(1) The term serving or serving size means an amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion by persons 4 years of age or older which is expressed in a common household measure that is appropriate to the food. When the food is specially formulated or processed for use by infants or by toddlers, a serving or serving size means an amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion by infants up to 12 months of age or by children 1 through 3 years of age, respectively.
(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(3), (b)(4), and (b)(6) of this section and for products that are intended for weight control and are available only through a weight-control or weight-maintenance program, serving size declared on a product label shall be determined from the "Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed Per Eating Occasion * * * *" (reference amounts) that appear in 101.12(b) using the procedures described below. For products that are both intended for weight control and available only through a weight-control program, a manufacturer may determine the serving size that is consistent with the meal plan of the program. Such products must bear a statement, "for sale only through the ___ program" (fill in the blank with the name of the appropriate weight-control program, e.g., Smith's Weight Control), on the principal display panel. However, the reference amounts in 101.12(b) shall be used for purposes of evaluating whether weight-control products that are available only through a weight-control program qualify for nutrient content claims or health claims.
(i) For products in discrete units (e.g., muffins, sliced products, such as sliced bread, or individually packaged products within a multiserving package) and for products which consist of two or more foods packaged and presented to be consumed together where the ingredient represented as the main ingredient is in discrete units (e.g., pancakes and syrup), the serving size shall be declared as follows:
(A) If a unit weighs 50 percent or less of the reference amount, the serving size shall be the number of whole units that most closely approximates the reference amount for the product category;
(B) If a unit weighs more than 50 percent, but less than 67 percent of the reference amount, the manufacturer may declare one unit or two units as the serving size;
(C) If a unit weighs 67 percent or more, but less than 200 percent of the reference amount, the serving size shall be one unit;
(D) If a unit weighs 200 percent or more of the reference amount, the manufacturer may declare one unit as the serving size if the whole unit can reasonably be consumed at a single-eating occasion.
(E) For products that have reference amounts of 100 grams (g) (or milliliter (mL)) or larger and are individual units within a multiserving package, if a unit contains more than 150 percent but less than 200 percent of the reference amount, the manufacturer may decide whether to declare the individual unit as 1 or 2 servings.
(F) The serving size for maraschino cherries shall be expressed as 1 cherry with the parenthetical metric measure equal to the average weight of a medium size cherry.
(G) The serving size for products that naturally vary in size (e.g., pickles, shellfish, whole fish, and fillet of fish) may be the amount in ounces that most closely approximates the reference amount for the product category. Manufacturers shall adhere to the requirements in paragraph (b)(5)(vi) of this section for expressing the serving size in ounces.
(H) For products which consist of two or more foods packaged and presented to be consumed together where the ingredient represented as the main ingredient is in discrete units (e.g., pancakes and syrup), the serving size may be the number of discrete units represented as the main ingredient plus proportioned minor ingredients used to make the reference amount for the combined product determined in 101.12(f).
(I) For packages containing several individual single-serving containers, each of which is labeled with all required information including nutrition labeling as specified in 101.9 (that is, are labeled appropriately for individual sale as single-serving containers), the serving size shall be 1 unit.
(ii) For products in large discrete units that are usually divided for consumption (e.g., cake, pie, pizza, melon, cabbage), for unprepared products where the entire contents of the package is used to prepare large discrete units that are usually divided for consumption (e.g., cake mix, pizza kit), and for products which consist of two or more foods packaged and presented to be consumed together where the ingredient represented as the main ingredient is a large discrete unit usually divided for consumption (e.g., prepared cake packaged with a can of frosting), the serving size shall be the fractional slice of the ready-to-eat product (e.g., 1/12 cake, 1/8 pie, 1/4 pizza, 1/4 melon, 1/6 cabbage) that most closely approximates the reference amount for the product category, and may be the fraction of the package used to make the reference amount for the unprepared product determined in 101.12(c) or the fraction of the large discrete unit represented as the main ingredient plus proportioned minor ingredients used to make the reference amount for the combined product determined in 101.12(f). In expressing the fractional slice, manufacturers shall use 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, or smaller fractions that can be generated by further division by 2 or 3.
(iii) For nondiscrete bulk products (e.g., breakfast cereal, flour, sugar, dry mixes, concentrates, pancake mixes, macaroni and cheese kits), and for products which consist of two or more foods packaged and presented to be consumed together where the ingredient represented as the main ingredient is a bulk product (e.g., peanut butter and jelly), the serving size shall be the amount in household measure that most closely approximates the reference amount for the product category and may be the amount of the bulk product represented as the main ingredient plus proportioned minor ingredients used to make the reference amount for the combined product determined in 101.12(f).
(3) The serving size for meal products and main dish products as defined in 101.13 (l) and (m) that comes in single-serving containers as defined in paragraph (b)(6) of this section shall be the entire content (edible portion only) of the package. Serving size for meal products and main dish products in multiserving containers shall be based on the reference amount applicable to the product in 101.12(b) if the product is listed in 101.12(b). Serving size for meal products and main dish products in multiserving containers that are not listed in 101.12(b) shall be based on the reference amount according to 101.12(f).
(4) A variety pack, such as a package containing several varieties of single-serving units as defined in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, and a product having two or more compartments with each compartment containing a different food, shall provide nutrition information for each variety or food per serving size that is derived from the reference amount in 101.12(b) applicable for each variety or food and the procedures to convert the reference amount to serving size in paragraph (b)(2) of this section.
(5) For labeling purposes, the term common household measure or common household unit means cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, piece, slice, fraction (e.g., 1/4 pizza), ounce (oz), fluid ounce (fl oz), or other common household equipment used to package food products (e.g., jar, tray). In expressing serving size in household measures, except as specified in paragraphs (b)(5)(iv), (b)(5)(v), (b)(5)(vi), and (b)(5)(vii) of this section, the following rules shall be used:
(i) Cups, tablespoons, or teaspoons shall be used wherever possible and appropriate except for beverages. For beverages, a manufacturer may use fluid ounces. Cups shall be expressed in 1/4- or 1/3-cup increments. Tablespoons shall be expres