The panel

The hairlines may be omitted

On this page13

The provision Which is unusual drafting And it names the substitute So the priority is explicit Which is a useful thing to know in a layout argument It only applies when space is constrained For our shelf the question rarely arises Which is the pleasant finding here The panel competes with other required content The dots are a function, not a decoration Which is why the substitute is named rather than left open None of which is set out here References

Replaced by a row of dots connecting the columns.

The provision

Where space is constrained, the hairlines may be omitted and replaced by a row of dots connecting the columns.

Which is unusual drafting

Most label rules specify a minimum and leave the designer to find the room. This one names a specific visual element and says it may go.

And it names the substitute

A row of dots connecting the columns, not simply nothing. The function of the hairline, which is to associate a value with a row, has to survive.

So the priority is explicit

Legible type matters more than the table's own ruling. The regulation ranks its requirements rather than treating them as equal.

Which is a useful thing to know in a layout argument

When a panel will not fit, the hairlines are the sanctioned place to give ground. The type size is not.

It only applies when space is constrained

It is a relief provision, not a style option. A container with room is expected to carry the full panel.

For our shelf the question rarely arises

Median side wall 33.4 square inches, and the smallest is 12.06. These are jars, and a jar at 33 square inches has room for a panel.

Which is the pleasant finding here

Unlike the topicals shelf, where a 1.06 inch jar had to carry a 59 character warning at a fixed height, this shelf is not fighting its own label.

The panel competes with other required content

An ingredient list, a net quantity statement, a name and place of business. The Supplement Facts panel is one claim on the area.

The dots are a function, not a decoration

A hairline associates a value with the row it belongs to, and a row of dots does the same work. Dropping both would leave a reader guessing which number belongs to which line.

Which is why the substitute is named rather than left open

The regulation does not say the hairlines may simply be omitted. It says what replaces them, and that is the part people skip.

None of which is set out here

This property quotes the area thresholds and the hairline allowance. What a panel must contain is a different subject and it is not on these pages.

References

21 CFR 101.36(i), on the Supplement Facts label: "All information within the nutrition label on small-sized packages, which have a total surface area available to labeling of less than 12 square inches, shall be in type size no smaller than 4.5 point", and "packages, which have from 12 to 40 square inches of surface area available to bear labeling, shall be in type size no smaller than 6 point". The same paragraph provides that where space is constrained "the hairlines may be omitted and replaced by a row of dots connecting the columns". law.cornell.edu

21 CFR 101.36(b)(2): "The subheading 'Serving Size' shall be placed under the heading 'Supplement Facts'" and "The subheading 'Servings Per Container' shall be placed under the subheading 'Serving Size'". The serving size itself is determined by reference to 21 CFR 101.9(b) and the reference amounts in 21 CFR 101.12(b), Table 2, rather than by the maker's recommendation. law.cornell.edu

Written from 21 CFR 101.36 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. The surface area figures here are computed from published height and diameter and are the cylindrical side wall only, which is a lower bound: the regulation measures the total surface area available to bear labeling, and that is more. Nothing on these pages sets out what a Supplement Facts panel must contain, which ingredients may be used, or what claims are permitted. A dietary supplement's serving size is determined by reference to the amounts in 21 CFR 101.12(b) rather than by the maker.