Q.

If my product contains 1,500 mg of an ingredient per serving. Should I declare it as 1,500 mg or 1.5 g?

A.

The quantitative amount of other dietary ingredients (ones that FDA has not established Daily Values for) must be expressed in appropriate units of measure – 1,000 or more units must be declared in the next higher set of units. For instance, 1,500 mg must be declared as 1.5 g. However, this does not apply to dietary ingredients with established Daily Values, as those also have established units of measure that must be used.

Q.

How big should the statement of identity (e.g., “Dietary Supplement”) on the front of a label.

A.

On many areas of the label, FDA gives very exact guidance on type sizes. However, it is slightly less specific for this. It must be presented in bold type on the principal display (front-facing) panel, it must in line generally parallel to the base on which the package rests as it is designed to be displayed, and must be in a size reasonably related to the most prominent printed matter on the panel. Generally, the FDA says that the size should (as opposed to must) be at least 1/2 the size of the largest print on the label.

Q.

Do we need to have an expiration date on our product?

A.

The FDA does not require dietary supplements to bear an expiration date, but they do suggest that you have data to support dates when used.