Dual Column, Two Age Groups: FDA Nutrition Facts format
%DV for infants and children 1-3. An FDA Nutrition Facts layout under 21 CFR 101.9, generated free with correct rounding and Daily Values.
Reviewed against 21 CFR 101.9 (Nutrition labeling of food) · Page updated September 16, 2026
Nutrition labelling requirements for Dual Column, Two Age Groups
Packaged food sold in the United States must carry a nutrition declaration under 21 CFR 101.9 (Nutrition labeling of food). This page covers the Dual Column, Two Age Groups format: %DV for infants and children 1-3. A compliant nutrition label declares 15 mandatory nutrients: calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin d, calcium, iron and potassium. Values are declared per serving, with serving sizes set by the racc tables in 21 cfr 101.12, with energy in kcal, and sodium rather than salt. The panel is headed "Nutrition Facts". English is required on pack. There is no mandatory front-of-pack warning scheme. NFL builds a print-ready nutrition label from your recipe, applying the rounding rules and reference intakes for the United States automatically, and exports it as PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG or EPS.
Official regulation
Key facts
When a Nutrition Facts label can show two age groups
FDA's rule in 21 CFR 101.9(e), in force, lets a manufacturer voluntarily give nutrition information for two or more population groups that have their own Reference Daily Intakes. FDA's official example pairs adults and children 4 years and older with children 1 through 3 years. It suits foods eaten by toddlers and older family members alike.
When this voluntary dual declaration is used, both sets of values must have equal prominence, and the column headings must say clearly which group each column covers.
In one case the second column is not optional. If a food is represented or purported to be specifically for both infants through 12 months and children 1 through 3 years, 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(i) makes separate percent Daily Values for each group mandatory, and the dual declaration must be used consistently across the product's labeling.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8) and (e), eCFR.
Daily Values used in each column
Each column must use the reference values in force for its own group, which is mandatory. The adult and 4-plus column uses the standard values; the 1 through 3 column uses the toddler values.
The gap can be large. Sodium has a reference value of 2,300 mg for adults and children 4 years and older but 1,500 mg for children 1 through 3, and calcium is 1,300 mg against 700 mg. The same amount of sodium therefore shows a much higher percentage in the toddler column.
The toddler values for fat, saturated fat, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber and added sugars are based on a reference intake of 1,000 calories, while the adult and 4-plus values are based on 2,000 calories.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8) and (c)(9), eCFR.
Layout and type size rules for the two-age-group label
When the format is used, these layout rules are mandatory under 21 CFR 101.9(e):
- equal prominence for both groups and headings that accurately name each group;
- amounts and percent Daily Values in separate columns divided by vertical lines;
- vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium set off by a bar and listed in that order; and
- no "Amount per serving" subheading, which is not required on this dual-column format.
The general rules in 21 CFR 101.9(d) still apply unless paragraph (e) changes them, including one easy-to-read type style, upper and lower case letters, leading, rules and highlighting. On the vertical version, "Calories" must be at least 16 point and the calorie number at least 22 point, and servings and serving size at least 10 point, subject to the specific exceptions in the regulation.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(d) and (e), eCFR.
Two-age-group label versus standard, toddler and infant labels
A standard vertical label gives one set of percentages for one population. The two-age-group label puts two populations side by side so a parent can read both on one panel.
A food marketed only for children 1 through 3 years uses the single-column toddler label under 21 CFR 101.9(j)(5), with toddler reference values and a footnote based on 1,000 calories a day. A food for infants through 12 months follows stricter rules: several percentages are prohibited and the footnote is not used, so an infant column is not simply another version of the adult column.
English is mandatory for required label information under 21 CFR 101.15(c), except for products distributed solely in Puerto Rico or another US territory where another language predominates. If the label uses another language, the required information must also appear in it, either in separate panels per language or with the second language following the English.
Source: 21 CFR 101.9(j)(5) and 21 CFR 101.15, eCFR.
Sources
Primary documents this page was written from, checked 2026-10-03.
How NFL handles it
- Applies the correct rounding rules for every nutrient
- Uses the right Daily Value / Reference Intake table for this jurisdiction
- Renders the required front-of-pack warnings automatically when thresholds are hit
- Handles multilingual labels where required (bilingual EN/FR, EN/ES, Arabic + EN, etc.)
- Exports print-ready vector PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG, and EPS
Deep dives
Common questions
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