FDA nutrition label serving sizes for cookies, muffins, and bread
The serving size on a bakery label starts from the reference amount customarily consumed in 21 CFR 101.12, then follows the discrete-unit steps in 21 CFR 101.9(b). A reference amount is not automatically the serving size printed on the box. The cookie example below uses hypothetical unrounded nutrients so the rounding is visible. It is a draft illustration, not a laboratory analysis and not FDA approval.
Open the label maker after the serving is chosen. Rounding for each nutrient is on the rounding rules page.
Bakery reference amounts
These rows are from Table 2 of 21 CFR 101.12(b), for the general food supply, persons 4 years and older. The label-statement column in the regulation is a pattern, and the wording can be changed to fit the product. “Piece” stands for the unit that fits, such as cookie, muffin, or slice.
| Product category | Reference amount | Label-statement pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies | 30 g | __ piece(s) (__ g) |
| Bagels, toaster pastries, muffins (excluding English muffins) | 110 g | __ piece(s) (__ g) |
| Biscuits, croissants, tortillas, soft bread sticks, soft pretzels, corn bread, hush puppies, scones, crumpets, English muffins | 55 g | __ piece(s) (__ g) |
| Breads (excluding sweet quick type), rolls | 50 g | __ piece(s) (__ g) for sliced bread and distinct pieces such as rolls; 2 oz (56 g/__ inch slice) for unsliced bread |
| Coffee cakes, crumb cakes, doughnuts, Danish, sweet rolls, sweet quick type breads | 55 g | __ piece(s) (__ g) for sliced bread and distinct pieces; 2 oz (56 g/visual unit of measure) for bulk products such as unsliced bread |
| Brownies | 40 g | __ piece(s) (__ g) for distinct pieces; fractional slice (__ g) for bulk |
English muffins are in the 55 gram row, not the 110 gram muffin row. Sweet quick type breads, including a banana bread if that is the category it fits, are in the 55 gram row with coffee cakes and sweet rolls, not the 50 gram row for other breads. This page does not decide which row a particular loaf fits.
From the reference amount to one serving
21 CFR 101.9(b)(2)(i) applies to products in discrete units, and the regulation names muffins and sliced bread as examples:
- A unit at 50 percent of the reference amount or less: use the number of whole units that most closely approximates the reference amount.
- More than 50 percent but less than 67 percent: the manufacturer may declare one unit or two units.
- 67 percent or more, but less than 200 percent: one unit.
- At least 200 percent and up to and including 300 percent: the serving approximates the reference amount, and the label adds a column for one unit. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(2)(i)(D).
A product packaged and sold individually that contains less than 200 percent of the applicable reference amount is a single-serving container, and the entire product is one serving. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(6).
21 CFR 101.9(b)(7): the serving size is a common household measure followed by the metric quantity in parentheses (grams, for these foods), except for single-serving containers. On a bag of cookies that is more than one serving, a statement such as “1 cookie (24 g)” follows that rule. Servings per container is required on a package that is not a single-serving container. 21 CFR 101.9(d)(3)(i).
Worked example: a bag of cookies
Each cookie weighs 24 g. The cookie reference amount is 30 g. 24 ÷ 30 is 80 percent, which is at least 67 percent and under 200 percent, so 21 CFR 101.9(b)(2)(i)(C) makes the serving one cookie. A bag of 12 of those cookies has 12 servings. The serving-size statement is 1 cookie (24 g).
The nutrient numbers are hypothetical unrounded amounts for that one cookie. The printed column is what this site’s label functions produce. Cholesterol at 2 to 5 mg may be stated as less than 5 milligrams under 21 CFR 101.9(c)(3); 12 mg is above that band and rounds to the nearest 5 mg.
| Nutrient | Unrounded, per cookie | What this label prints |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 118 | 120 |
| Total fat | 5.6 g | 6 g |
| Saturated fat | 2.2 g | 2.0 g |
| Trans fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 12 mg | 10 mg |
| Sodium | 88 mg | 90 mg |
| Total carbohydrate | 14.6 g | 15 g |
| Dietary fiber | 0.6 g | <1 |
| Total sugars | 7.4 g | 7 g |
| Added sugars | 6.8 g | 7 g |
| Protein | 1.4 g | 1 g |
Two other bakery sizes, using the same discrete-unit rules and no nutrient table:
- A 140 g muffin is about 127 percent of the 110 g muffin reference amount. That is at least 67 percent and under 200 percent, so the serving is one muffin.
- A 32 g slice of bread is 64 percent of the 50 g reference amount for breads excluding sweet quick type. That is more than 50 percent and less than 67 percent, so one slice or two slices may be declared. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(2)(i)(B).
If the package also makes a nutrient content claim or prints other nutrition information, the small-business exemptions from Nutrition Facts do not apply. Those tests are on the exemption page. A farmers-market booth is not a separate serving-size rule; the same reference amounts apply. See farmers market labels.
Questions
What are the reference amounts for cookies, muffins, and bread?
In 21 CFR 101.12 Table 2, cookies are 30 grams. Bagels, toaster pastries, and muffins, excluding English muffins, are 110 grams. English muffins are in the 55 gram row with biscuits, croissants, and scones. Breads, excluding sweet quick type, and rolls are 50 grams. Sweet quick type breads are 55 grams, with coffee cakes, doughnuts, and sweet rolls.
How do I turn a cookie reference amount into a serving size?
Compare one cookie with the 30 gram reference amount using 21 CFR 101.9(b)(2)(i). A 24 gram cookie is 80 percent of 30 grams, which is at least 67 percent and under 200 percent, so the serving is one cookie. On a multi-cookie package the statement includes the gram weight, for example 1 cookie (24 g). A cookie packaged and sold alone, under 200 percent of the reference amount, is one serving under 21 CFR 101.9(b)(6).
Is a large muffin or one slice of bread always one serving?
Not always. A 140 gram muffin is about 127 percent of the 110 gram muffin reference amount, so one muffin is the serving. A 32 gram slice is 64 percent of the 50 gram bread reference amount, which is more than 50 percent and less than 67 percent, so 21 CFR 101.9(b)(2)(i)(B) allows one slice or two slices. A unit at 200 to 300 percent of the reference amount uses a serving near the reference amount and a second column for one unit.
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