How FDA sets the order of an ingredient list
The rule fits in one line: list every ingredient by its common or usual name, in descending order of predominance by weight. Weight means the amount in the food you sell. It doesn't mean volume, price, or how important an ingredient is to the taste.
- First place goes to the ingredient that weighs the most, last place to the one that weighs the least
- Water you add is an ingredient and takes its place by weight like any other
- Two sweeteners, two flours or two oils are separate ingredients, each placed by its own weight
- The same rule applies to foods with a standard of identity
Why your measuring cups get the order wrong
Most recipes are written in cups and spoons. Most ingredients have very different weights per cup. Here is a batch of no-bake peanut butter energy bites, with the weight of each amount from USDA FoodData Central:
| Ingredient | In the recipe | Weight | Share of the batch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolled oats | 1 cup | 81 g | 19.5% |
| Peanut butter | 1/2 cup | 129 g | 31.1% |
| Honey | 1/3 cup | 113 g | 27.2% |
| Semisweet chocolate chips | 1/2 cup | 86.5 g | 20.9% |
| Vanilla extract | 1 tsp | 4.2 g | 1.0% |
| Salt | 1/8 tsp | 0.75 g | 0.2% |
By the cup, oats lead. By weight, they come fourth. Peanut butter and honey are dense, oats are light and fluffy. Here is the list in the right order, as our label maker writes it:
Ingredients: Peanut butter (peanuts), honey, semisweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), rolled oats, vanilla extract (vanilla bean extractives in water, alcohol), salt. Contains: Milk, Peanuts, Soy.
Start a label →The fix is simple: weigh each ingredient as it goes into the bowl, or convert every cup and spoon to a weight before you sort.
Order inside the parentheses
An ingredient made of other ingredients, like chocolate chips or enriched flour, can go on the label two ways. Both follow weight order, just at a different level.
| Method | How the order works |
|---|---|
| Name plus parentheses | The chips take their place in the main list by their total weight. Inside the parentheses, their own ingredients go in descending order too: sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract |
| Break it out | The chips disappear as a name. Each of their components joins the main list at its total weight in the finished food. Sugar from the chips adds up with any other sugar in the recipe and may move up the list |
Where the order is allowed to bend
| Situation | What's allowed |
|---|---|
| Ingredients at 2% or less of the food | They may skip the order if they go at the end, after "Contains 2% or less of" or "Less than 2% of". The threshold can also be 1.5%, 1% or 0.5%. Nothing in that group may be above the threshold |
| A blend of oils used in a food where fats are not the main ingredient | The oils in parentheses don't have to be in order if your mix varies. Oils you only sometimes use may be listed with "and/or" or "contains one or more of the following" |
| Leavening, yeast nutrients, dough conditioners, firming agents | A group name with the parts in parentheses, such as "leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate)". The parts may leave weight order if you can't keep a constant pattern |
One limit on the oil rule: when fats and oils are the main part of the product, such as a blended cooking oil, the oils must be in weight order and only oils that are actually present may be listed.
In the energy bites, vanilla extract (1.0%) and salt (0.2%) both qualify for the 2% group: "...rolled oats. Contains 2% or less of: vanilla extract, salt." It is optional. A full list in strict weight order is always correct.
Water and reconstituted ingredients
Making milk from nonfat dry milk and water? Some ingredients may use a short name in any form: dry or reconstituted skim milk can be "nonfat milk", dried or liquid whole eggs can be "eggs". When you add water to bring such an ingredient back, its place in the list is set by the dry weight plus the water needed to reach single strength. Any water beyond that is listed separately as "water", in its own spot by weight.
Want to show off an ingredient? Use a percentage
You can't move your star ingredient up the list. You can show how much of it there is. Put the percentage by weight in parentheses right after its name, rounded to the nearest 1%. In the energy bites that could read "honey (27%)". Ingredients at 2% or less may be grouped with the quantifying phrase instead.
Let the tool sort the list for you
Our label maker converts cups, spoons, ounces and pieces to weights with USDA portion data, then sorts your ingredient list by weight. Sub-ingredients go in parentheses, and the Contains line names every major allergen it finds. Change an amount and the order updates as you type. The calculation report shows the grams behind every ingredient, so you can prove the order to a store or inspector.
Ingredients List Generator from a Recipe →