Codex STAN 1-1985: International Food Label Guide

Codex STAN 1-1985 is the Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods, while CAC/GL 2-1985 provides the Codex Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling used as a reference point when countries build nutrition-labeling rules. Codex texts are not directly binding law, but they anchor the World Trade Organization's treatment of food standards, and dozens of national regulations adopt the Codex approach or closely follow its structure.

If you export to a market without a detailed US-, EU-, or China-style nutrition-labeling regime, the Codex baseline is often the format you will be asked to follow. You still need to check the destination country's national rules because those requirements control where they exist.

What Codex STAN 1-1985 and Codex food labelling ask for

For nutrition labeling, CAC/GL 2-1985 provides the core nutrient declaration. It has been recommended for essentially all prepackaged foods since the Commission strengthened the text in the early 2010s, and it is mandatory whenever a nutrition or health claim is made.

The core declaration covers:

• Energy, expressed in kilojoules, with kilocalories commonly shown alongside
• Protein
• Available carbohydrate, with total sugars
• Fat, with saturated fat
• Sodium, although some countries adopting the framework express it as salt

Additional nutrients must be declared when claims are made about them. Individual countries can also expand the mandatory nutrient list through national rules, with trans fat and dietary fiber being frequent additions.

Values may be declared per 100 g or 100 ml, per serving, or both, depending on how the destination country has implemented the Codex framework. Internationally, the per-100g basis dominates. Our comparison of per-100g versus per-serving labeling explains the practical differences between the two approaches.

This distinction between the Codex baseline and national implementation is important. Codex provides the international framework, but the country where you sell the product determines the final requirements you must follow.

Codex NRVs: international nutrient reference values

Codex Alimentarius maintains its own Nutrient Reference Values for percentage declarations. They fall into two families:

• NRVs-R, or Nutrient Reference Values for requirements, covering vitamins, minerals, and protein.
• NRVs-NCD, or Nutrient Reference Values associated with noncommunicable disease risk, covering nutrients to limit.

The NRVs-NCD include reference values on the order of 20 g for saturated fat and 2,000 mg for sodium.

Many national NRV tables, including those used across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, are taken from or harmonized with the Codex set. They differ from US Daily Values in both their values and their underlying approach. See RDA vs DV vs NRV for the full comparison.

The Commission periodically adds or revises NRVs. For an actual export label, do not automatically calculate against the newest Codex table. Use the version that the destination market has adopted because national implementation can lag changes to the Codex text by years.

Where Codex Alimentarius labeling appears in practice

The Codex framework can affect an export label in several different ways:

• Direct adoption: Many countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific reference Codex guidelines in national food law, sometimes verbatim.
• Regional standards built on Codex: The Gulf's GSO 2233 and various ASEAN and African regional texts follow the Codex structure while adding local requirements such as language mandates.
• Import documentation: Even where national food-labeling law is limited, importers and retailers frequently request "Codex-compliant" nutrition declarations as a contractual baseline.
• Dispute reference: Under the WTO SPS and TBT agreements, national measures aligned with Codex enjoy a presumption of legitimacy, which is why regulatory systems tend to move toward Codex principles over time.

For an exporter, this means "Codex compliant" should not automatically be treated as equivalent to "legal in every Codex-aligned country." A market may use Codex as its foundation while adding its own language, nutrient, reference value, or formatting requirements.

Codex food labelling versus major national systems

Feature	Codex CAC/GL 2-1985	US 21 CFR 101.9	EU 1169/2011
Basis	Per 100 g/ml and/or serving	Per serving (RACC)	Per 100 g/ml
Energy units	kJ (kcal alongside)	Calories	kJ and kcal
Reference values	Codex NRVs	Daily Values	Reference Intakes
Prescribed layout	No fixed graphic format	Strict typographic spec	Tabular preferred, size minimums

One of the most important practical differences is the absence of a prescribed graphic format. A Codex-baseline nutrition label is defined primarily by its required content rather than by a single standardized visual treatment.

That gives exporters more flexibility in presentation than systems with tightly prescribed panel formats. It also gives importers and retailers room to impose their own house styles while continuing to work from the Codex nutrient framework.

The underlying nutrient data therefore matters more than reproducing one universal Codex graphic. Once you have a reliable per-100g dataset, it can be adapted to the specific presentation rules of the destination market.

Building Codex-baseline labels efficiently

Codex-aligned markets share a common core nutrition declaration, so one accurate per-100g nutrient dataset can support labels for multiple countries. The destination format, language, reference values, and additional national requirements can then be applied to that common dataset.

Keep your recipes and nutrient rollups in one place. NFL recipes maintain per-100g profiles automatically, and you can then render destination formats from the coverage list. This avoids rebuilding the underlying nutrition calculation separately for every market.

The translation workload is also smaller than it may first appear. Codex nutrient names map onto a relatively short glossary for each language, so much of the localization work is closer to a table lookup than a complete rewrite.

You should still verify the national implementation before using the final label. Codex provides the baseline, while the destination market determines whether additional nutrients, languages, reference values, or formatting rules apply.

Frequently asked questions about Codex STAN 1-1985

What is Codex STAN 1-1985?

Codex STAN 1-1985 is the Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods. For nutrition labeling specifically, CAC/GL 2-1985 provides the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling. Together, Codex texts provide an international reference framework that many countries adopt or use when developing national food-labeling requirements, although Codex itself is not directly binding national law.

Is Codex compliance legally sufficient on its own?

Only where national law makes it sufficient. Codex is an international reference standard, but if your destination country has its own food-labeling regulation, that national regulation controls. Treat the Codex baseline as the foundation, then apply any national requirements for language, nutrient reference values, declaration basis, formatting, and other labeling particulars before selling the product.

Does Codex require %NRV percentages on the label?

Not universally. Numeric nutrient declaration is the core requirement, while percentage-of-NRV labeling is provided for and widely adopted, particularly for vitamins and minerals. Whether those percentages are mandatory on your product depends on how the destination country has implemented the Codex framework. Check the national regulation rather than assuming every Codex-aligned market handles %NRV declarations identically.

Does Codex require nutrition values per 100 g or per serving?

It depends on national implementation. Codex-aligned declarations may use values per 100 g or 100 ml, per serving, or both, while the per-100g basis dominates internationally. The destination country's rules determine the final presentation, so you should keep a reliable per-100g nutrient dataset and convert or supplement it where the national implementation requires another basis.

How does Codex handle front-of-pack labeling?

Codex has separate guidance on front-of-pack nutrition labeling that establishes principles rather than prescribing one universal front-of-pack scheme. National approaches can therefore differ substantially. Systems such as Nutri-Score, warning octagons, and star ratings use different presentations while operating within regulatory environments that may still look to Codex principles as an international reference.

Exporting beyond the major regulatory blocs? Generate Codex-baseline and country-specific labels from one dataset using the free NFL generator.