There are only a handful of hard-setlabeling rules the FDA has imposed on the food and drinks industry in the US, but they do havea set ofguidelinesthat every company in the sectoris expected to follow. Keeping those guidelines in focus, here’s the gist of what you need to know about adding printed information on product packaging.
OuterPackage Labeling: Finding the Right Coding Solution
There are several different types of coding solutions used for shipping various types of products. The type of coding that should be used and how, depends on aspects such as the package type (e.g., jars, bottles, cans, cardboard cases, pallets, etc.), and the substrate type (e.g., cardboard, normal/coated paper, metallic, glass, plastic, flexible film, shrinkwrap, etc.).Avoid the guesswork and take the technology match assessment survey at https://www.diagraph.com/ to figure out exactly what kind of secondary packaging solution you need in minutes.
Information Panel Labeling: Font Size, Highlights, Color Coding and More
Although the following are simply generic guidelines, they should still help in providing a framework for designing your product labels:
- The font’s color should be deliberately contrasted with the package’s background for easy legibility
- The smallest figure, which is “o” (lower-case) should not be less than 1/16th of an inch in height
- None of the letters are to be taller than more than 3x their width
- Tiny lettering could be allowed, provided that the packaging and the product is too small for the standard rules
- Mandatory labeling statements should not be obscured in any way
- Several different sizes for the fonts are to be used while printing out the statement of nutritional facts, in accordance with the FDA guidelines
As you can probably guess, this is the most difficult part because there are several variables which make it almost impossible to create accurate guidelines for printing out label statements, without being privy to specific details about the product and the packaging used first.
Principal Display Panel (PDP)
All printed label statements should be placed either entirely on the principal display panel (PDP), or they could be divided between the PDP and the information panel. The principal display panel is always located on the package’s front, facing the customer directly.The information panel should be located on the customer’s right side when they are facing the PDP. When a package has at least two primary display panels on opposing sides, the labeling type is identified as an alternate PDP.
Label Statements on the PDP
The following information must be printedas label statements on the primary display panel, as well as on the alternate display panel (when applicable):
- Statement of Identity 1:The product’s brand name (e.g., KitKat)
- Statement of Identity 2: The actualproduct name (e.g., milk chocolate&wafers)
- Statement of Quantity or Amount: How much or how many of the product is included in the package (e.g., 2/3/4 finger bars)
Label Statements on the Information Panel
Information panels are supposed to contain additional label statements that were not already mentioned on the PDP. This may include, but is not limited to the following information:
- Name of the manufacturing, packaging and distributing companies
- Verified contact information of the manufacturing brand (phone number, email address, mail address, etc.)
- Statement of nutritional value
- List of ingredients and contents
- Food allergy warnings, if known allergens (nuts, shellfish, etc.) are present in the food item(s)
Visit the FDA website for additional information on label printing regulations for food products. However, state regulations will also need to be considered, in case the current state of business has any specific rules regarding food labels that differ from the FDA’s general guidelines.
