Front-of-pack labels give shoppers a quick read on a product's nutrition, right on the front of the package. Some markets, like Canada and Mexico, require them. Others use voluntary systems that retailers and shoppers increasingly expect. Every system has its own thresholds, scoring method and design rules.
Food Label Maker generates your FOP label from your recipe's nutrition data and shows how the result was calculated. You can see exactly why a product gets a seal, a color or a score, and what's driving it.
Plan availability: Front-of-pack labels are available on all plans: Basic, Plus, Professional and Enterprise. You can only create the FOP label for the markets included in your plan. Basic and Plus include 1 market, Professional includes 2 markets, and Enterprise includes 8+ markets, with custom market requests available. To create FOP labels for more markets, you'll need to upgrade your plan.
Where to Find It
Open your recipe and click the Customize Label tab.
Under Choose Label Style, select the label style for your market.
Click Front of Pack Label. The FOP format for that market appears, with a live preview on the right.
Adjust the settings for your packaging.
Click Save.
🇨🇦 Canada
1. Front-of-Package Nutrition Symbol
Health Canada's black-and-white magnifying glass symbol, which tells shoppers a product is "High in" saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium. It has been mandatory since January 1, 2026 for prepackaged foods that meet or exceed the thresholds.
Settings you can adjust
Symbol format: choose the layout from the dropdown, such as Standard Bilingual.
Select Reference Amount: search for and select your product's reference amount category.
How it's calculated
Food Label Maker compares the saturated fat, sugars and sodium per reference amount against Health Canada's %Daily Value thresholds. The threshold is 15% DV for most foods, 10% DV for foods with a reference amount of 30 g or 30 mL or less, and 30% DV for main dishes with a reference amount of 200 g or more. Because the reference amount decides which threshold applies, make sure the right category is selected. Click click here under the reference amount field for more detail.
🇲🇽 Mexico
2. NOM-051 Warning Seals
The black octagon warning seals required under Mexico's NOM-051: EXCESO CALORÍAS, EXCESO AZÚCARES, EXCESO GRASAS SATURADAS, EXCESO GRASAS TRANS and EXCESO SODIO. Products containing caffeine or sweeteners also carry cautionary statements. These seals appear when you select Mexican Standard Label (Spanish) as your label style.
Settings you can adjust
Show Cautionary Statements: show or hide the required cautionary statements, and choose Wide Layout or Narrow Layout to fit your packaging.
Show Clustered Seals: group the seals together for a more compact layout.
Small Label Size: reduce the seal size for packages with limited space.
Show Vertical Format: stack the seals vertically instead of side by side.
Calorie Free Beverage: apply the exemption for beverages that qualify as calorie-free.
Edit Free Sugars and Sweeteners: review how your ingredients are classified as free sugars or sweeteners.
How it's calculated
The seals are based on whether your product exceeds NOM-051 thresholds for energy, free sugars, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium. How your ingredients are classified as free sugars and sweeteners directly affects which seals and statements appear. AI suggests this classification for you, so review it and adjust anything that doesn't match your formulation. For a full walkthrough, see Add Mexico's Front of Pack Warning Labels (NOM-051) on Food Label Maker.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
3. Traffic Light Label
The UK's voluntary color-coded label. It rates fat, saturates, sugars and salt as low (green), medium (amber) or high (red), and shows energy, the amount per serving, the % of an adult's reference intake and typical values per 100 g.
Settings you can adjust
Show Low/Med/High Warnings: show or hide the LOW, MED and HIGH text under each nutrient.
Show Fully Colored Nutrient Bar: color the full nutrient segments instead of only part of them.
Show Vertical Label: display the label vertically instead of horizontally.
Suggested Serving Size: enter the serving size shown on the label.
How it's calculated
Each color is set by comparing the nutrient against UK government thresholds per 100 g (or 100 mL for drinks). For larger portions, per-portion criteria can also apply. The percentages show how much of an adult's daily reference intake one serving provides.
🇪🇺 European Union
4. Nutri-Score
A voluntary A to E grade used in several European countries, including France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland. A is the most favorable and E the least. Food Label Maker uses the 2023 Nutri-Score algorithm.
Settings you can adjust
Product category: choose the category that fits your product. Grade cut-offs vary by category.
Is your recipe going to be deep fried?: switch this on if the product will be deep fried.
Edit Fruit, Vegetable & Legume ingredients: review which ingredients count as fruits, vegetables and legumes.
Re-run AI check: run the fruit, vegetable and legume check again after changing your recipe.
How it's calculated
The Score breakdown shows every step. Unfavorable points (N) are given for energy, sugars, saturated fat and salt. Favorable points (P) are given for protein, fibre and fruits, vegetables and legumes, all per 100 g. The final score is N minus P, which is then converted into a grade. When a product has too many unfavorable points, protein may not be counted, and the breakdown tells you when this happens.
🇦🇺🇳🇿 Australia & New Zealand
5. Health Star Rating
The voluntary Health Star Rating system used in Australia and New Zealand. It rates products from 0.5 to 5 stars, and can show energy and key nutrients next to the stars.
Settings you can adjust
Product category: choose the category that fits your product.
Show Energy: show or hide the energy icon.
Show Saturated Fat, Sugars & Sodium: show or hide the nutrient icons.
Show Vertical Format: display the label vertically.
Nutrient Basis: choose how nutrient values are shown on the label.
Edit Fruit, Vegetable, Nut & Legume ingredients: review which ingredients count toward this score.
Re-run AI check: run the fruit, vegetable, nut and legume check again after changing your recipe.
How it's calculated
The Score breakdown shows baseline points for energy, saturated fat, sugars and sodium, and modifying points for fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, protein and fibre, calculated per 100 g. Modifying points are subtracted from baseline points, and the result is converted into a star rating based on your product category. Protein may be excluded in some cases, and the breakdown tells you when.
Why Front-of-Pack Labels Matter
Some markets require them. In Canada and Mexico, a missing or incorrect FOP label can mean relabeling, delayed launches or products pulled from shelves.
Retailers and shoppers expect them. Voluntary systems like Nutri-Score, the UK Traffic Light and Health Star Rating are widely used and often requested by retail partners.
They show you what to reformulate. The score breakdown shows exactly which nutrient pushes a product into a seal, a red light or a lower grade. You can then use the Dynamic Formulation View to test changes.
Always do a final review. Where AI helps classify ingredients, check the results against your formulation. Confirm your FOP label meets current requirements before printing, or use Request A Review to have your packaging artwork checked by an expert.