The Bee Bench › Label Helper
The net weight line in the format it's supposed to be in, the minimum type size for your jar, and a checklist of what else has to be on there.
For a round jar, roughly: label height × 40% of the circumference. A standard 1 lb queenline jar works out around 12 square inches. This sets the legal minimum type size for the net weight.
Copy this exactly. Both the customary and the metric figure are required, and it belongs in the bottom 30% of the front panel.
| Element | Required? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of identity | Yes | The word Honey, on the front panel, in a type size reasonably related to the largest print on the label. You may name a floral source — "Clover Honey" — only if that source is genuinely the chief one. |
| Net quantity of contents | Yes | In both customary and metric, in the bottom 30% of the front panel, parallel to the base of the jar. That's the line generated above. |
| Name and address | Yes | Your name or business name and full street address — city, state, ZIP. The street line can be omitted only if you're listed in a current public directory. |
| Ingredient list | Not for pure honey | Honey with nothing added is a single-ingredient food and needs no ingredient statement. Add anything at all — cinnamon, fruit, an infusion — and you need a full one. |
| Nutrition Facts | Usually exempt | Small businesses selling under 100,000 units a year with fewer than 100 employees can claim exemption — but you must file the exemption notice with FDA (form 8100) each year. It is not automatic. Making any nutrient claim voids it. |
| Infant warning | Strongly advised | "Do not feed honey to infants under one year of age." Not federally mandated, but infant botulism is real and every serious packer carries it. Put it on. |
| Lot or batch code | Advised | Not required at this scale, but if you ever have to trace or recall a batch you will be very glad it's there. A date and yard code is plenty. |
| Country of origin | If wholesaling | "Product of USA" is required for imported honey and expected by most retail buyers. |
| Front panel area | Minimum height |
|---|---|
| 5 sq in or less | 1/16 inch (about 4.5 pt) |
| Over 5, up to 25 sq in | 1/8 inch (about 9 pt) |
| Over 25, up to 100 sq in | 3/16 inch (about 13.5 pt) |
| Over 100, up to 400 sq in | 1/4 inch (about 18 pt) |
| Over 400 sq in | 1/2 inch (about 36 pt) |
Heights are for an uppercase letter, or the lowercase "o" if the text is lowercase. Type also has to be at least as wide as it is tall — no squeezing it to fit.