Skip to main content

Build a Nutrition Facts label from your recipe

Import a bill of materials into the Recipe Calculator, map any ingredient without nutrition data, set a serving size, and save. Servings per container are worked out from the container, and the label flags when the BOM changes.

The Recipe Calculator works out a Nutrition Facts label from your ingredients and their amounts, so you don't have to type in every nutrient. The quickest start is a bill of materials (BOM): FourFoxes brings in its ingredients, amounts, yield and container, then works out servings per container for you. The Recipe Calculator is on every plan. Members, Admins and Owners can use it. Production Team users cannot open labels.

Start from a BOM or from scratch

  • From a BOM. Open Supply Chain, then Bills of Materials, open the BOM and click Generate FDA label. The button only appears on the active version, and only Admins and Owners can open BOMs. The calculator opens with the BOM already imported and the Label Name filled in from the product name.
  • From Saved Labels. Open Saved Labels and click New Recipe Label. Pick a BOM from Import from BOM…, or search for ingredients one at a time under Add Ingredient. Any role that can open the calculator can import a BOM. The list shows only active BOMs.

If you already have ingredients in the list, importing a BOM asks first: This will replace your current recipe. Click Continue to replace them or Cancel to keep them.

Build the label

  1. Bring in your ingredients from a BOM or Add Ingredient. Amounts from a BOM show in g or mL.
  2. Fix any row marked No nutrition data. Click Map nutrition, then Search Foods in USDA FoodData Central, and click Select Food on the closest match. The match is saved to the ingredient, so your other labels can use it too. Until you map it, that ingredient counts as zero.
  3. Enter a Serving Size in g, oz or mL. Nothing is calculated until you do. The preview says Enter a serving size to calculate nutrition values.
  4. Check Servings Per Container. See the next section.
  5. Check the live preview on the right, then click Save Recipe Label.

The To finish this label list at the top shows what is left, such as Set a serving size or Map 1 ingredient(s) to nutrition data. Click Jump to go straight to it. When nothing is left, it reads This label is ready to save.

Recipe Calculator with a BOM imported The Recipe Calculator after importing a bill of materials. A To finish this label list asks you to map one ingredient. The ingredient list shows one row marked No nutrition data with a Map nutrition button. Below are the serving size, a manually typed servings per container marked Manual value: derivation paused with Use calculated, the container, and the Save Recipe Label button. On the right is the live Nutrition Facts preview. Recipe Calculator To finish this label ! Map 1 ingredient(s) to nutrition data Jump → Ingredients 1 Import from BOM… Habanero peppers 400 g ✕ Apple cider vinegar 600 mL ✕ Smoked salt No nutrition data Map nutrition 18 g ✕ 2 Serving Parameters Serving Size 3 5 g Servings Per Container 24 ✎ Manual value: derivation paused ↺ Use calculated 4 Container 5 oz Woozy — 148 mL Save Recipe Label 5 Nutrition Facts Preview Nutrition Facts 24 servings per container Serving size 5g Amount per serving Calories 0 % Daily Value* Total Fat 0g 0% Sodium 160mg 7% Total Carbohydrate 1g 0% Total Sugars 0g Protein 0g Updates as you edit the recipe.
The Recipe Calculator after a BOM import, with one ingredient still to map.

Servings per container

When the BOM's packaging includes a container with a fill size, a Container field appears. If there is one container it is picked for you. If there are several, choose one. FourFoxes divides the fill size by your serving size and rounds the way FDA rules require: to a whole number, or to the nearest half between 2 and 5 servings. A rounded number prints as "about" on the label.

  • Type your own number and the field turns amber with Manual value: derivation paused. It stops updating when you change the serving size or container. Click Use calculated to go back to the calculated number.
  • If the BOM's packaging has no fill size, you see No fill size on this BOM's packaging. Enter servings per container manually.
  • A serving in mL against a container measured by weight, or the other way round, shows Density 1.0 assumed (mL ≈ g).

Use lab results

The Nutrition Values section is calculated from your recipe. If you have lab results, click Edit values and type over any number. Each one you change shows Lab-tested value and stays as you typed it. Click Use calculated on that field to drop your number. Click Done when you finish.

Saving

If any ingredient still has no nutrition data when you save, FourFoxes asks Save with missing data?. Click Go Back to map it, or Save Anyway to save with that ingredient counted as zero. A recipe with ingredients cannot be saved without a serving size: you see Serving size is required to calculate nutrition values. Saved recipe labels go into the same Saved Labels list as your other labels, where you can download them as SVG, PDF or PNG.

Calculated values are estimates

The calculator uses USDA reference data for each ingredient, not a test of your finished product. Lab testing is the standard for an FDA label. Use Edit values to enter tested numbers when you have them.

When the BOM changes

A label made from a BOM stays linked to it. In Saved Labels, a linked label shows one of two badges:

  • BOM changed: the BOM's ingredients, amounts, units, yield or container fill size changed after you saved. Changing a packaging count does not trigger it. Changing an ingredient's density can, when a BOM line enters a liquid in grams or a dry ingredient in mL.
  • Newer BOM version: a newer version of that product's BOM is now active.

To update the label, click its edit (pencil) button, then click Refresh from BOM next to the badge. The dialog lists what will change, such as an ingredient amount, the yield or the container, and whether the label moves to a newer BOM version. Click Refresh. The label takes the newest active version and keeps your serving size, any servings per container you typed, and your lab-tested values. You see Label refreshed from BOM.

On a paused, read-only or archived account you can still open and download saved labels, but you cannot build or save one.

Related