Question 1

How do you calculate nutrition facts from a recipe?

Accepted Answer

Add up the nutrients in every ingredient at the quantity used, using per-100 g nutrient data from a recognised database such as USDA FoodData Central, adjust for the moisture lost or gained in cooking so that the totals apply to the finished weight, divide by the number of servings, and then round each nutrient to the increment in 21 CFR 101.9(c). Rounding is done once, at the end, never ingredient by ingredient.

Question 2

Is a database calculation accepted by the FDA, or do I need lab testing?

Accepted Answer

The FDA accepts nutrient values computed from a database under the compliance rules in 21 CFR 101.9(g), and FDA's own guidance names USDA data as an acceptable source. What is tested at enforcement is the finished product: naturally occurring beneficial nutrients (Class II) must be present at 80% or more of the declared value, added nutrients (Class I) at 100% or more, and calories, sugars, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium may not exceed the declared value by more than 20%. A calculation from accurate ingredient data and a correct yield usually falls inside those bands; laboratory analysis is the safer choice for fried foods, fermented products and anything with variable moisture.

Question 3

Why does cooking change the numbers?

Accepted Answer

Because the finished weight is not the sum of the raw ingredients. Baking, roasting and simmering drive off water, so the nutrients concentrate per 100 g; boiling pasta or rice adds water, so they dilute; frying adds oil. The calculator therefore asks for the batch yield after cooking, or a yield percentage, and divides the totals by that weight rather than by the raw weight.

Question 4

How do I choose the serving size for a recipe?

Accepted Answer

For a packaged food sold in the US, the serving size is not a free choice: it is derived from the Reference Amount Customarily Consumed for the food category in 21 CFR 101.12, expressed in a household measure with the gram weight in parentheses. A home recipe can use any sensible portion. The RACC lookup tool lists the reference amounts by category.

Question 5

What about ingredients that are not in the USDA database?

Accepted Answer

Enter them from the supplier's specification sheet: any packaged ingredient sold in the US carries its own Nutrition Facts panel, and its per-100 g values can be entered as a custom ingredient. Keep the specification on file; it is the evidence for the number on your label.

Question 6

Can I turn the result into a Nutrition Facts label?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The per-serving values feed the label generator, which applies the FDA rounding rules, computes each % Daily Value and renders the panel in the format the package is allowed to use; the same recipe re-renders to the Canadian, EU, UK and other formats.

Ingredient	Weight (g)	Cal /100g	Fat /100g	Sat Fat /100g	Trans /100g	Chol /100g	Sodium /100g	Carbs /100g	Fiber /100g	Sugars /100g	Added Sug /100g	Protein /100g

Recipe → Nutrition Calculator

Per-serving nutrition

Check your own jurisdiction

Read more

Recipe → Nutrition Calculator

Per-serving nutrition

Other tools

Check your own jurisdiction

Read more