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Butter Label

Butter label basics: federal law defines "butter" as a product made only from milk or cream, with or without salt and color, and at least 80% milkfat. The label needs the name, the net weight, the ingredients, Contains milk, your name and address and Nutrition Facts per tablespoon. Flavored butters like honey butter are named for what is in them. Enter your recipe and get the panel for your tub or block.

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Butter label on an 8 oz tub of cinnamon honey butter with a Nutrition Facts panel: 90 calories per tablespoon
Checklist

What has to be on your butter label

Front of the tub or box: the name and the weight. Back or side: the rest. The numbers match the tub on the left.

Front label
SMALL BATCH · KEEP REFRIGERATEDCinnamon HoneyButter
NET WT 8 OZ (227g)
Back label
Nutrition Facts
about 14 servings per container
Serving size1 tbsp (16g)
Calories90
Total Fat 9g12%
Saturated Fat 5g25%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 25mg8%
Sodium 70mg3%
Total Carb. 5g2%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 5g
Incl. Added Sugars 5g10%
Protein 0g
Vitamin D 0mcg0%
Calcium 0mg0%
Iron 0mg0%
Potassium 10mg0%
INGREDIENTS: Butter (cream, salt), honey, powdered sugar (sugar, cornstarch), cinnamon.
Allergens: Contains milk.
Made by Stillwater Spread Co.Lancaster, PA 17602
  1. 1
    Name21 U.S.C. 321a · 21 CFR 101.3
    "Butter", "Salted butter" or "Unsalted butter" for plain butter. Anything else mixed in? Name it for what it is: "Cinnamon honey butter", "Garlic herb butter".
  2. 2
    Net weight21 CFR 101.7
    Ounces and grams in the bottom 30% of the front. A box of four sticks: NET WT 16 OZ (1 LB) 454g.
  3. 3
    Nutrition Facts21 CFR 101.9
    Per 1 tablespoon, with the grams: 14 g for plain butter, a little more once honey goes in.
  4. 4
    Ingredient list21 CFR 101.4
    Plain salted butter: cream, salt. A flavored butter lists butter with its own parts in parentheses, then the rest by weight.
  5. 5
    Allergen statementFALCPA
    Contains milk. Mix pecans into a praline butter and the pecans get named too.
  6. 6
    Name and address21 CFR 101.5
    Who churned or packed it, with city, state and ZIP.
Butter rules

Things that are different for butter

80%What federal law calls butterButter is made only from milk or cream, or both, with or without common salt and with or without added color, and it holds at least 80% milkfat by weight. A blend with oil, or butter with honey mixed in, is something else and gets its own name.21 U.S.C. 321a
100Plain butter per tablespoonSalted butter by USDA's numbers: 100 calories, 11 g fat, 7 g saturated fat (35% DV), 30 mg cholesterol and 90 mg sodium per 1 tbsp (14g). Unsalted butter shows the same panel with 0mg sodium.21 CFR 101.12(b), 101.9(c)
UnsaltedUnsalted is a claim with conditionsNo salt added in processing, and a food it stands in for that is normally salted. Unless the butter is sodium free (under 5 mg per serving), add "not a sodium free food" next to the panel. USDA's unsalted butter has about 1.5 mg per tablespoon, so no extra line is needed.21 CFR 101.61(b)(1), (c)(2)
50%Lightly salted"Lightly salted" means 50% less sodium added than in the regular product. Unless the butter also meets the low sodium definition, the line "not a low sodium food" goes next to the panel.21 CFR 101.56(g)
ColorAdded color on butterFederal law exempts butter, cheese and ice cream from its artificial coloring label rules. Listing the color, like annatto, in the ingredients is still allowed.21 U.S.C. 343(k)
LicenseFlavored butter and cottage foodButter is a dairy product. Minnesota, for one, keeps butter and flavored butters out of its cottage food law: they need a food license and a licensed kitchen. Check your state before you sell a tub.Minnesota Department of Agriculture: Cottage Food Law Guidance
Sizes

Butter packages and the label that fits

Tubs, blocks and stick boxes leave different flat areas. Measure yours, then try the styles in the tool.

PackageTypical label areaStyle that usually fits
4 oz tub2.5 × 1.5 inTabular (wide)
8 oz tub3 × 2 inStandard (vertical)Sample
8 oz block wrapper2.5 × 3 inStandard (vertical)
1 lb box of 4 sticks2.5 × 4.5 in sideStandard (vertical)
Sample recipe included

Start from a honey butter that's already filled in

Salted butter, honey, powdered sugar and cinnamon, beaten until smooth. The label uses 16 g per tablespoon, because honey is heavier than butter: weigh a level tablespoon of yours. Making plain butter? Enter salted or unsalted butter on its own and you get the per-tablespoon panel above.

Start with this recipe
IngredientAmountUnit
Butter (salted)✓ USDA match1cup
Honey✓ USDA match1/4cup
Powdered sugar✓ USDA match1/4cup
Ground cinnamon✓ USDA match1tsp
Makes about 12 oz: one 8 oz tub and one 4 oz tubServing 1 tbsp (16 g), the FDA reference amount for butter
Questions

Butter label questions

1 tablespoon, with its weight: 1 tbsp (14g) for plain butter by USDA's numbers. Honey butter and other mixes weigh a bit more per spoon, so weigh yours.

Related pages

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