Ingredient Statement Generation

FDA requires ingredients to be listed in descending order of predominance by weight (21 CFR 101.4). This means the ingredient that constitutes the largest percentage of your recipe by weight appears first, and the smallest appears last.

ServingCalc calculates each ingredient's weight percentage and sorts automatically. The tool also shows the weight percentage next to each ingredient in the editor view (this annotation is for your reference and does not appear on the final label).

For example, a cookie recipe might generate: Semisweet Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Butter (Cream, Salt), Brown Sugar, Sugar, Eggs, Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, Salt.

Ingredients must be declared using their FDA common or usual name. ServingCalc maps USDA database descriptions to FDA-accepted label names. The USDA calls it Sugars, granulated — your label says Sugar. The USDA calls it Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached — your label says Enriched Flour with a parenthetical sub-ingredient list.

Some naming rules are specific: butter made from cream and salt must be declared as Butter, not Clarified Butter Fat. Water added to the product must appear in the ingredient list (unless it evaporates during processing). Spices can be declared collectively as Spices rather than individually, with the exception of those that are also common allergens.