Who regulates your drink
| Drink | Regulator | Panel |
|---|---|---|
| Soda, iced tea, coffee drinks, juice, lemonade, sports drinks, plant milks | FDA (food) | Nutrition Facts |
| Bottled water | FDA, with its own standard of identity | Nutrition Facts rules apply as for any food |
| Liquid dietary supplements, such as some shots | FDA (dietary supplement) | Supplement Facts |
| Kombucha that stays under 0.5% alcohol at all times | FDA (food) | Nutrition Facts |
| Kombucha at or above 0.5% alcohol at any time | TTB | TTB rules and the alcohol health warning |
| Beer, wine and spirits | Mostly TTB; FDA labels some, such as wines under 7% alcohol | Depends on the regulator |
TTB: Kombucha · FDA: Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods · 21 CFR 165.110 · 21 CFR 101.36The 0.5% line for kombucha, FDA's note on FDA-regulated beers and wines (generally under 7% alcohol), the bottled water standard, and Supplement Facts.
Beverage or liquid dietary supplement?
Energy drinks, wellness shots and vitamin waters sit on the line. Putting a Supplement Facts panel on a bottle doesn't make it a supplement. FDA looks at how the product is presented:
- Name: words like "drink", "beverage", "water" or "soda" present it as a food
- Packaging: a can or bottle that looks like a soft drink points to a beverage
- Serving size: directions that add up to a large part of a day's fluids (FDA estimates about 1.2 liters, or 40 fl oz) make it a beverage
- Marketing: "refreshing", "rehydrate", "quench your thirst" or comparisons with soda point to a beverage
- Directions like a measured dose to supplement the diet point to a dietary supplement
Our tool makes both panels: Nutrition Facts for beverages and Supplement Facts for liquid supplements. You decide which one your product is.
Start a label →FDA guidance: Distinguishing Liquid Dietary Supplements from BeveragesThe factors FDA uses: labeling and advertising, product name, packaging, serving size and daily intake, directions for use, marketing and composition.
Beverage label requirements for every FDA drink
- A name that says what the drink is: "Sparkling lemonade", "Iced green tea", "Ginger beer"
- Net contents in fluid ounces on the front, in the bottom 30% of the panel: "12 FL OZ (355 mL)". From a pint up, add pints or quarts: "16 FL OZ (1 PT) 473 mL"
- An ingredient list in order by weight, with water listed where it falls
- Each major allergen declared, such as milk in a latte or almonds in an almond drink
- Your business name, city, state and ZIP
- Nutrition Facts, unless an exemption applies
21 CFR 101.3 · 101.7 · 101.4 · 101.5 · 101.9 · 21 U.S.C. 343(w)Name, net quantity, ingredients, name and place of business, nutrition labeling and allergens.
Serving size by type of drink
The serving on a drink label comes from FDA's reference amounts. Use the row that matches your product:
| Drink | Reference amount | On the label |
|---|---|---|
| Soda, water, other drinks, wine coolers | 360 mL | 12 fl oz (360 mL) |
| Coffee or tea, flavored and sweetened | 360 mL prepared | 12 fl oz (360 mL) |
| Juices, nectars, fruit drinks | 240 mL | 8 fl oz (240 mL) |
| Milk, plant milks, soy beverage, cocoa, meal replacement drinks | 240 mL | 1 cup (240 mL) |
| Drink mixes, flavored syrups for drinks | Amount to make 360 mL | The amount in tsp, tbsp or fl oz |
| Juice concentrates and milk drink mixes | Amount to make 240 mL | The amount in tsp, tbsp or fl oz |
Bottles sold one at a time with less than twice the reference amount are a single serving. Between two and three times, the label gets a second column per container.
21 CFR 101.12(b) Table 2 · 101.9(b)(6), (b)(12)Reference amounts for beverages, single-serving containers and dual column labels.
Dual Column Nutrition Label →Drinks with juice: the percent juice statement
Any drink that contains juice, or looks or sounds like it does, must state how much: "Contains 10% lemon juice", "Less than 1% juice", or "Contains 0% juice" when the label or color suggests fruit but there is none. A lemonade made with real lemon juice needs this statement.
- Place it near the top of the information panel, in bold, no smaller than the largest other type there apart from the name, brand, logo, UPC and the Nutrition Facts title, serving size and calories
- Under 100% juice, a name that uses "juice" needs "drink", "beverage" or "cocktail": "Lemon juice drink"
- A drink flavored with a little juice and labeled only as "flavored", with no juice wording or juice-like look, can skip the percentage
21 CFR 101.30 · 102.33(a)When the percent juice statement is required, its wording and placement, and names for drinks with less than 100% juice.
Juice Label Requirements →Bottled water names and drink claims
- Bottled water names are defined: "spring water", "mineral water", "artesian water", "purified water" and "sparkling bottled water" each have their own requirements
- "Zero sugar" on a drink is a sugar free claim: under 0.5 g sugars per serving, and a disclaimer such as "not a low calorie food" unless the drink is low or reduced calorie
- "Calorie free" or "zero calories" means fewer than 5 calories per reference amount and per serving
- Any nutrition claim cancels the small business exemption, so the drink needs Nutrition Facts
21 CFR 165.110(a)(2) · 101.60(b)(1), (c)(1) · 101.9(j)(1)Bottled water identity names, the calorie free and sugar free definitions, and claims ending the small business exemption.
Sugar Free Food Labels →Beverage label checklist
0 of 8 checkedSaved on this device