What serving size goes on an elderberry syrup label?

Sold as a food: 2 tbsp (30 mL), the reference amount for syrups. Sold as a dietary supplement: your largest recommended dose at one time, for example 1 tablespoon, or one unit if the label recommends nothing.

Do I need Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts?

It follows how you sell the syrup. A food label with "Elderberry syrup" and a 2 tbsp serving gets Nutrition Facts. A bottle labeled as a dietary supplement, with directions for a daily dose, gets Supplement Facts. Both cost the same in our tool: $29 per label.

Can I sell homemade elderberry syrup under my state's cottage food law?

That depends on the state. Each cottage food law has its own list of allowed foods, so check whether yours covers syrups before you print labels for a farmers market.

Is there a free elderberry syrup label template?

Yes. Download a free blank Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts panel in PDF, Word, SVG or PNG and fill it in by hand, or let the free preview calculate the panel from your own syrup recipe.

Elderberry Syrup Label

Elderberry syrup labels start with one choice: food or dietary supplement. As a food, the bottle needs its name, the net contents in fluid ounces and milliliters, the ingredients by weight, the city, state and ZIP of the maker, and Nutrition Facts per 2 tablespoons, the reference amount for syrups. As a supplement, it says "dietary supplement" and carries Supplement Facts per the dose you recommend. Either way, promises to prevent or treat colds, flu or any other disease stay off the label.

Start with this recipe Supplement Facts Label Maker

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Elderberry syrup label on an 8 fl oz amber bottle with a Nutrition Facts panel showing 60 calories per 2 tbsp

Checklist

What has to be on your elderberry syrup label

Name and fluid ounces go on the front of the bottle, everything else on the back. Each number points to the bottle beside the list.

Front label

SMALL BATCH · HONEY SWEETENEDElderberrySyrup

8 FL OZ (237 mL)

Back label

Nutrition Facts

about 8 servings per container

Serving size2 tbsp (30mL)

Calories60

Total Fat 0g0%

Sodium 0mg0%

Total Carb. 17g6%

Total Sugars 15g

Incl. Added Sugars 15g30%

Protein 0g

Not a significant source of saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium.

INGREDIENTS: Water, honey, elderberries, lemon juice, ginger root, cinnamon, cloves.

Allergens: none of the 9 major food allergens.

Made by Hollow Creek KitchenAsheville, NC 28801

1
Name21 CFR 101.3
"Elderberry syrup" for the food version. Sold as a supplement, the name carries "dietary supplement" or a term like "Elderberry supplement".
2
Net contents in fluid ounces21 CFR 101.7
A syrup is a liquid, so it is declared by volume: fluid ounces plus milliliters, low on the front, like 8 FL OZ (237 mL).
3
Nutrition or Supplement Facts21 CFR 101.9, 101.36
Nutrition Facts per 2 tbsp (30 mL) for the food. Supplement Facts per your recommended dose, like 1 tablespoon, for the supplement.
4
Ingredient list21 CFR 101.4
Heaviest first. Name each spice, or declare them together as "spice".
5
Allergen statementFALCPA
Elderberries, honey and the usual spices are not major allergens. A nut-based add-in would be, and so would any of the other major allergens.
6
Name and address21 CFR 101.5
The maker, packer or distributor, with the city, state and ZIP code.

Elderberry syrup rules

Things that are different for elderberry syrup

2 tbspThe food serving: syrupsFDA's reference amount for all syrups is 30 mL, declared as 2 tbsp (30 mL), and its product list names fruit syrup in that group. Tick Liquid in the tool and the serving prints in milliliters.21 CFR 101.12(b), Table 2; FDA RACC product list

1 tbsp, 3×How FDA tells a supplement from a foodFor liquids, FDA weighs the name, the packaging, the serving size and daily intake, the directions, the composition and the marketing. Its guidance says directions like one tablespoon three times a day could be a factor showing the product is not a conventional food. Ads that pitch it as a drink to go with a meal point the other way.FDA guidance: Distinguishing Liquid Dietary Supplements from Beverages

DiseaseNo cold or flu promisesAnything sold to prevent, treat or cure a disease counts as a drug under federal law. A supplement may describe how elderberry affects the body's structure or function, as long as FDA's disclaimer sits beside the claim and FDA gets notice within 30 days of first marketing. Our tool does not check claims.21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93FDA Supplement Disclaimer →

AddedThe honey is added sugarSugars from honey and syrups count as added sugars once they are an ingredient. In the sample, the 15 g of added sugars per serving come from the honey: 30% of the Daily Value.21 CFR 101.9(c)(6)(iii)

StrainedWeigh the syrup after strainingEnter the finished syrup's weight as the weight after cooking: 22.9 oz here. The tool treats the weight that left the pot as water, so whatever stays in the strained berries still counts toward the panel. At 2 tbsp the berry fiber rounds to 0 g in our sample. For exact numbers, send a bottle to a lab and enter the results as a custom ingredient.Add a Custom Ingredient to Your Nutrition Label →

FruitThe supplement versionOn Supplement Facts, list the elderberry with the part of the plant used, like "Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) fruit", and the calories, carbs and sugars that the honey brings, as long as they are big enough not to round to zero. A liquid extract is listed by the volume or weight of the whole extract per serving.21 CFR 101.36(b)(2), (b)(3)(ii)(B); 101.4(h)

Sizes

Elderberry syrup bottles and the label that fits

Amber bottles curve, so measure the flat band you can actually print on. Then try the formats in the tool.

Elderberry syrup bottles and the label that fits
Bottle	Typical label area	Style that usually fits
2 fl oz bottle	2 × 1.5 in	Small package (linear)
4 fl oz bottle	2.5 × 2 in	Tabular (wide)
8 fl oz bottle	3 × 2.5 in	Standard (vertical)Most common
16 fl oz bottle	3.5 × 3 in	Standard (vertical)

Sample recipe included

Start from an elderberry syrup that's already filled in

Simmer the elderberries in the water with the ginger, cinnamon and cloves until it cooks down, strain, then stir in the honey and lemon juice. Elderberries are in our library, matched to USDA's raw elderberries. USDA lists no sugars for them, so the preview flags the gap and counts the berries' sugars as zero; the honey carries the sugars here. Have a sugar value from your supplier or a lab? Enter it and the panel updates.

Start with this recipe

Start from an elderberry syrup that's already filled in
Ingredient	Amount	Unit
Water✓ USDA match	2	cups
Elderberries✓ USDA match	1/2	cup
Ginger root✓ USDA match	1	tbsp
Ground cinnamon✓ USDA match	1	tsp
Ground cloves✓ USDA match	1/4	tsp
Honey✓ USDA match	1	cup
Lemon juice✓ USDA match	2	tbsp

Makes about 22.9 oz of syrup after straining, two 8 fl oz bottles and a little extraServing 2 tbsp (30 mL), the reference amount for syrups; 30 mL of this syrup weighs about 36 g

Questions