Getting started

From recipe to jar

Updated October 2026

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One: is every ingredient cleared for this use?Two: get the full composition of every bought ingredient Three: write the ingredient list from the rules Four: then choose the jar Reformulation reopens the list Keep supplier specifications with the formula And know which rules you are under References

Four steps, and the first one can disqualify an ingredient rather than merely complicate the label.

One: is every ingredient cleared for this use?

A color additive is lawful because it is listed for the use in part 73, 74 or 82. Other substances are cleared by their own route. The question is per ingredient and per use, and "it is sold for cakes" is not an answer to it.

Two: get the full composition of every bought ingredient

Including what is inside a flavor or a color you buy as a blend, because an allergen in there is still an allergen you must declare. A supplier specification in writing is the only workable source.

Three: write the ingredient list from the rules

Certified colors by name. Preservatives by name plus function. Allergens by a "Contains" statement adjacent to the list in type no smaller than the list, or in parentheses after the ingredient name.

Four: then choose the jar

Which for this group is the easy half: 158 containers from 50 to 296 mL, 86 PET, 52 PP and 20 glass, with 244 closures. Wide mouths throughout and the choice turns on moisture, light and whether it is scooped or shaken.

Reformulation reopens the list

A new colorant, a different flour, a substituted flavor. Each can change a required declaration, and the label is printed in quantity, so the arithmetic favors checking before the order rather than after.

Keep supplier specifications with the formula

The composition of what you bought is the evidence behind what your label says. Without it the list is an assertion, and a supplier change can quietly falsify it.

And know which rules you are under

Federal food labeling applies broadly, and state cottage food programs add or subtract requirements for a local sale. Being clear about which market you are in decides which set to work from.

References

21 CFR parts 73, 74 and 82, the listings of color additives exempt from certification, subject to certification, and provisionally listed. A color additive is lawful for a use because it is listed for that use, which is the authority 101.22(k) points at. law.cornell.edu

21 U.S.C. 343(w), the major food allergen labeling requirements. Paragraph (1) gives the two permitted forms, a "Contains" statement immediately after or adjacent to the ingredient list in type no smaller than that list, or the food source in parentheses after the ingredient name. Paragraph (4) applies the requirement to a flavoring, coloring or incidental additive notwithstanding any other law. law.cornell.edu

21 CFR 101.22(j), which requires a food containing an added chemical preservative to declare both the common or usual name of the ingredient and a separate description of its function, giving "preservative", "to retard spoilage", "a mold inhibitor", "to help protect flavor" and "to promote color retention" as examples. law.cornell.edu

Written from federal statute and regulation, not from a kitchen. Food labeling has more parts than three sections, and a state cottage food program may add or subtract requirements for a local sale. Nothing here is clearance for a specific label, and whether an ingredient is cleared for food use is a question about that ingredient.