Skip to content
Regulation

Supplement Facts Label: FDA 21 CFR 101.36 Format

Supplement Facts (Adult), the FDA nutrition label under 21 CFR § 101.36 (Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements), amount per serving, with no per-100 g column, English on pack. Generate a compliant label free.

Reviewed against 21 CFR § 101.36 (Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements) · Page updated September 16, 2026

Jurisdiction
United States (FDA-regulated dietary supplements under DSHEA 1994)
Regulation
21 CFR § 101.36 (Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements)
Effective
Current; updated by 2016 rule (81 FR 33742)
Official source
www.ecfr.gov
Generate the US labelUS FDA requirements guide

Nutrition labelling requirements in the US

Packaged food sold in the US must carry a nutrition declaration under 21 CFR § 101.36 (Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements). This page covers the US - Supplement Facts (Adult) format: FDA Adult Supplement Facts panel - 21 CFR § 101.36 with proprietary blend support. Values are declared amount per serving, with no per-100 g column. The panel is headed "Supplement Facts". English is required on pack. There is no mandatory front-of-pack warning scheme. NFL builds a print-ready FDA nutrition label from your recipe, applying the rounding rules and reference intakes for the US automatically, and exports it as PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG or EPS.

Official regulation

Citation
21 CFR § 101.36 (Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements)
Effective
Current; updated by 2016 rule (81 FR 33742)
Scope
United States (FDA-regulated dietary supplements under DSHEA 1994)
Source

Key facts

Panel title
"Supplement Facts" (not "Nutrition Facts")
Column basis
Amount Per Serving, no per-100g column
Proprietary blends
Allowed under § 101.36(c)(4); total mg + ingredient list, no individual amounts
"Other Ingredients:"
Excipients, fillers, colours, flavours and binders go in the ingredient list below the panel, headed "Other ingredients" when sources are named in the panel (§ 101.36(d), § 101.4(g))

Rounding + threshold rules (sample)

  • Any solid oral supplement containing iron as an iron source carries the boxed 21 CFR 101.17(e) warning, whatever the iron amount (the old 30 mg unit-dose packaging threshold was revoked)
  • Nutrient with no established DV → declare mg/mcg and use "†" symbol

What 21 CFR 101.36(b) puts on a Supplement Facts panel, and what it leaves off

Section 101.36(b)(2) names fifteen nutrients with a Reference Daily Intake or Daily Reference Value: calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium. Unlike Nutrition Facts, where most of these appear even at zero, a (b)(2) nutrient is declared only when it exceeds the amount 101.9(c) allows to be declared as zero; one that is absent or roundable to zero shall not be declared. For vitamins and minerals the cutoff is 2 percent of the RDI.

  • Amounts are per serving under "Amount Per Serving", with the serving size in the supplement's own unit (tablets, capsules, packets). The weight is that of the nutrient, not its source: the calcium, not the calcium carbonate.
  • Vitamins and minerals follow the 101.9(c) order, except that calcium and iron follow choline and sodium and potassium follow chloride.
  • Percent Daily Value is the unrounded amount divided by the RDI in 101.9(c)(8)(iv) or the DRV in 101.9(c)(9), shown to the nearest whole percent, not the 2, 5 and 10 percent steps used on foods. A DRV nutrient that rounds to 0 percent is shown as "Less than 1%".
  • Calories carry no percent DV. A percent DV for total fat, saturated fat, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, protein or added sugars takes a symbol leading to the footnote "Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet". Adult values apply unless the product is for infants, children 1 through 3, or pregnant or lactating women, when the column heading must name the group.

Source: 21 CFR 101.36(b), 21 CFR 101.9(c).

Dietary ingredients with no Daily Value and the dagger footnote, 101.36(b)(3)

Every other dietary ingredient (botanicals, amino acids, probiotics, enzymes, CoQ10 and similar) falls under 101.36(b)(3) and is declared by common or usual name with its metric amount per serving, below the heavy bar that closes the (b)(2) list, in a column or a linear display.

  • Each carries a symbol (asterisk or dagger) in the "% Daily Value" column, or after the amount if there is no column, referring to the footnote "Daily Value not established". If the heading uses "DV" unexplained, the footnote must expand it: "Daily Value (DV) not established".
  • The amount is the weight of the ingredient, not of its constituents or source. Constituents may be listed indented beneath it with their own amounts.
  • A liquid extract still in its solvent is declared by the volume or weight of the whole extract, stating that the starting material was fresh where it was, and optionally the extraction ratio and solvent. A dried extract is declared by its dried weight.
  • Botanicals must name the part of the plant used, wherever they are listed (101.36(d)(1) and 101.4).

FDA's labeling guide counts this among the defining differences from Nutrition Facts: ingredients without an RDI or DRV must be listed on a supplement and may not appear on a food label.

Source: 21 CFR 101.36(b)(3), FDA Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide, Chapter IV.

Proprietary blends under 101.36(c)

A proprietary blend is listed among the other dietary ingredients and identified by the words "Proprietary Blend" or another descriptive or fanciful name, optionally in bold. The regulation sets four conditions:

  1. Any (b)(2) nutrient inside the blend (a vitamin or mineral, for instance) is declared separately under 101.36(b)(2) with its own amount and percent DV. It cannot hide inside the blend total.
  2. The other dietary ingredients in the blend are listed indented under the blend name in descending order of predominance by weight, in a column or linearly, without individual amounts.
  3. The amount shown for the blend is the total weight of all other dietary ingredients it contains, on the same line as the blend name in the amounts column.
  4. A symbol next to the blend total refers to the "Daily Value not established" footnote, under "% Daily Value" if that column exists or after the weight if not.

Every other listing rule still applies, and paragraph (e)(11)(v) carries a sample layout. The order of names is itself a disclosure: the first ingredient is the heaviest in the blend.

Source: 21 CFR 101.36(c).

Source ingredients, the "Other ingredients" list and the iron warning: 101.36(d), 101.4(g), 101.17(e)

Paragraph 101.36(d) allows the source of a dietary ingredient to be named inside the panel, in parentheses after the name or indented beneath it, preceded by "as" or "from": "Calcium (as calcium carbonate)". A source named this way need not be repeated in the ingredient statement; a source not named in the panel must be. Two or more sources of one dietary ingredient are listed in descending order by weight.

That ingredient statement is governed by 101.4(g). It sits immediately below the panel, or to its right if there is no room, headed "Ingredients" unless some sources are identified inside the panel, in which case it is headed "Other ingredients". Excipients, fillers, binders, flavors and colors are not dietary ingredients and belong in this list, never inside the panel.

Separately, 101.17(e) requires a warning on any supplement in solid oral dosage form (tablets, capsules) containing iron or iron salts as an iron source, with no minimum amount. The wording is fixed: "WARNING: Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately." It goes on the information panel, boxed by hairlines.

Source: 21 CFR 101.36(d), 21 CFR 101.4(g), 21 CFR 101.17(e).

Format and type size (101.36(e)), exemptions (101.36(h)) and the 2016 revision dates

The panel is a hairline box. The title "Supplement Facts" must be larger than all other type in the box; title and headings are bold. Heavy bars close the serving block, the (b)(2) list and the other-dietary-ingredient list; a light bar sits under the column headings and a hairline between ingredient lines.

  • Standard packages: 8 point minimum for the body, 6 point for column headings and footnotes.
  • Intermediate packages (12 to 40 square inches of labeling area): 6 point, or 4.5 point when the ingredient count is high.
  • Small packages (under 12 square inches): 4.5 point, all capitals allowed.

Exemptions in 101.36(h) cover retailers with not more than $500,000 in annual gross sales (or $50,000 in food sales), low-volume products under 101.9(j)(18) (fewer than 100 full-time equivalent employees and 100,000 units) and bulk shipments for further manufacture; all lapse once the label makes a nutrient content or health claim.

The current text comes from the final rule of May 27, 2016 (81 FR 33742), effective July 26, 2016, which brought in added sugars, vitamin D and potassium and dropped calories from fat, vitamin A and vitamin C. Compliance dates, extended by 83 FR 19619 to January 1, 2020 ($10 million or more in annual food sales) and January 1, 2021 (smaller firms), have passed; the old format is no longer accepted. FDA's April 2005 labeling guide predates these changes. Build a US Supplement Facts panel in the generator at #/app.

Source: 21 CFR 101.36(e), (h), (i), 81 FR 33742 (2016 final rule), 83 FR 19619 (compliance date extension).

How NFL handles it

  • Applies the correct rounding rules for every nutrient
  • Uses the right Daily Value / Reference Intake table for this jurisdiction
  • Renders the required front-of-pack warnings automatically when thresholds are hit
  • Handles multilingual labels where required (bilingual EN/FR, EN/ES, Arabic + EN, etc.)
  • Exports print-ready vector PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG, and EPS

Common questions

What is the difference between Supplement Facts and Nutrition Facts under 21 CFR 101.36?
Supplement Facts applies to dietary supplements and Nutrition Facts to conventional foods. On Supplement Facts you must list every dietary ingredient, including botanicals and other ingredients with no Daily Value, you may name the source of a nutrient in the panel, and you may not show zero amounts. Nutrition Facts shows a fixed set of nutrients even at zero and never lists source ingredients or ingredients without a Daily Value.
Do I have to list nutrients that are zero on a Supplement Facts label?
No, and you may not. Under 101.36(b)(2)(i) a nutrient that is absent, or present in an amount that 101.9(c) would round to zero, shall not be declared. For vitamins and minerals that means anything below 2 percent of the RDI is left off the panel.
What does the dagger or asterisk mean on a Supplement Facts panel?
It marks a dietary ingredient for which FDA has not established a Reference Daily Intake or Daily Reference Value. The symbol sits in the % Daily Value column (or after the amount if there is no column) and refers to a footnote at the bottom of the panel reading Daily Value not established. Botanicals, amino acids, probiotics and proprietary blends all carry it.
Do I have to disclose the amount of each ingredient in a proprietary blend?
No. Under 101.36(c) you declare the total weight of the blend and list its other dietary ingredients in descending order of weight, indented under the blend name, without individual amounts. Any vitamin, mineral or other nutrient with a Daily Value inside the blend must still be declared separately with its own amount and percent DV.
Where does the Other ingredients list go on a supplement label?
Immediately below the Supplement Facts panel, or immediately to the right of it if there is no space below, per 21 CFR 101.4(g). It is headed Other ingredients when some sources are already named inside the panel, otherwise simply Ingredients. Fillers, binders, capsule materials, flavors and colors belong in this list, not in the panel.
When is the iron warning required on a dietary supplement in the US?
Under 21 CFR 101.17(e), whenever a supplement in solid oral dosage form such as tablets or capsules contains iron or iron salts as an iron source. There is no minimum amount. The exact warning text is prescribed, must be boxed by hairlines, and must appear on the information panel of the immediate container and on the retail package.
What is the minimum type size for a Supplement Facts panel?
8 point for the ingredient lines, with 6 point allowed for column headings and footnotes, under 101.36(e). Intermediate packages with 12 to 40 square inches of labeling area may use 6 point, and small packages under 12 square inches may use 4.5 point. The Supplement Facts title must be larger than all other type in the box.
How is percent Daily Value calculated on a supplement label?
Divide the unrounded amount of the nutrient per serving by its RDI or DRV from 21 CFR 101.9(c) and multiply by 100, then show the result to the nearest whole percent. For example, the adult RDI for iron is 18 mg, so a serving with 9 mg of iron shows 50%. A DRV nutrient that rounds to 0 percent but must still be listed is shown as Less than 1%.

How to generate one

  • Open the generator: free account, no credit card
  • Pick "US - Supplement Facts (Adult)" from the format rail
  • Enter your ingredients (search USDA FoodData Central or add a custom ingredient)
  • The label renders live; export in one click

Generate a compliant FDA nutrition label in minutes

Free forever. No card. 3 saved recipes on the free plan.
Open the generator