Guide
Food labeling for US meal-prep businesses
Sealed meal-prep bowls sold from a fridge, a vending fridge or a delivery tote are packaged food. They need a name, ingredients, major allergens, net weight, your address, and usually Nutrition Facts. A weekly menu PDF in a text thread is not the label on the bowl.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Sealed meal-prep bowls sold from a fridge, a vending fridge or a delivery tote are packaged food. They need a name, ingredients, major allergens, net weight, your address, and usually Nutrition Facts. A weekly menu PDF in a text thread is not the label on the bowl.
Where this shows up in a real kitchen
US meal-prep Instagram sells macros first. The bowl still contains soy sauce (soy, wheat), yogurt sauce (milk), sesame, peanut satay. If chicken content pushes the product into FSIS territory, the label book changes. Delivery photos do not replace the lid sticker.
The US rule
FDA packaged food if it is sealed retail food. Nutrition Facts for most. FALCPA names. USDA FSIS if meat/poultry product jurisdiction applies. State food-code dates for refrigeration are extra — not a substitute for ingredients.
How to apply it
Standardise each bowl as a SKU. Weigh it. List ingredients from the build sheet. Declare the nine majors that appear, including sesame on slaw and soy in marinade. Print lids that survive condensation. Recalculate Nutrition Facts when the rice portion creeps from 4 oz to 7 oz.
- Decide FDA vs FSIS for each bowl.
- Freeze the build sheet and weigh the packed bowl.
- Declare majors actually in that SKU.
- Put the sticker on the lid, not in the bag as a flyer.
Worked example
“Teriyaki chicken bowl”, 16 oz: rice, chicken, broccoli, teriyaki (soy, wheat), sesame seeds. Contains: soy, wheat, sesame. If FSIS has this product, add the inspection legend and follow FSIS labeling. If FDA has it, add Nutrition Facts and the LLC address. Either way the lid names soy, wheat and sesame.
Checks that belong on this pack
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Each flavor has its own Contains line | Peanut satay is not the teriyaki line. |
| Net weight is the food, not the clamshell | Tare the plastic. |
| Macros on Instagram match Nutrition Facts | A 20 g protein boast is a claim. |
| Date marks follow your local food code | They sit beside, not instead of, ingredients. |
A QR code to a Google Sheet as the ingredients list
Condensation lids in a gym fridge do not have time for a QR. FALCPA names belong on the pack.
What LabelClear can and cannot print
Build each bowl’s ingredients and allergen names, then add US net weight and Nutrition Facts. A UK PPDS ticket is the wrong shape for a 16 oz meal.
Questions
Are subscription deliveries packaged food?
Do I need a full panel if I only sell to my gym?
Can I write macros only?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Food Labeling GuideU.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Nutrition labeling requirementsU.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Labeling — FSIS compliance guidanceUSDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
Related guides
US food labeling
FDA food labeling requirements for packaged foods
If you sell packaged food in the United States, FDA labeling usually means a statement of identity, net quantity, an ingredients list in…
5 min read
US food labeling
FALCPA allergen labeling: what the 2004 Act actually requires
FALCPA requires packaged FDA foods to declare the major food allergens using their common names — either inside the ingredients list or i…
5 min read
US food labeling
The 9 major food allergens in the United States
US packaged foods must name nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.…
5 min read