Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
| Quick facts | Rounding rules |
|---|---|
| Regulation | 21 CFR 101.9(c)(1)–(c)(9) |
| Applies to | Every quantitative nutrient value and %DV printed on a Nutrition Facts label |
| Key numbers | Calories: <5 → 0; ≤50 → nearest 5; >50 → nearest 10. Sodium: <5mg → 0; 5–140mg → nearest 5; >140mg → nearest 10. %DV: ≤10% → nearest 2%; 10–50% → nearest 5%; >50% → nearest 10%. |
Answering the question
Every number on a Nutrition Facts label is rounded, but not the same way twice. 21 CFR 101.9(c) sets a specific increment and zero-threshold for each nutrient, from calories down to trace minerals. Calories round to the nearest 5 or 10 depending on size; fats round in half-gram or whole-gram steps; sodium and cholesterol round in milligram bands; carbohydrate, fiber, sugars, and protein round to the nearest gram with a “less than 1 gram” option below that; and %DV for vitamins and minerals rounds on its own separate 2%/5%/10% scale. Below is what we verified directly against the current text of 101.9(c), with anything we couldn’t confirm to the increment marked as such rather than guessed.
The rule
21 CFR 101.9(c) governs “nutrition labeling shall contain information about the level of… nutrients” and prescribes, nutrient by nutrient, how the declared amount is rounded before it’s printed. The pattern across most nutrients is the same shape: an amount below a small threshold may or must be declared as zero, an amount in a lower range rounds to a finer increment, and an amount above a breakpoint rounds to a coarser one. Calories, fat, and sodium each work through their own version of that pattern; carbohydrate-family nutrients (carbohydrate, fiber, total sugars, added sugars, sugar alcohol) and protein share a simpler “round to the nearest gram, or state ‘less than 1 gram’” rule; and %DV for vitamins and minerals is rounded under its own subparagraph, separately from the underlying quantitative amount.
The numbers
| Nutrient | Rounding rule (21 CFR 101.9(c)) |
|---|---|
| Calories | <5 cal → 0; ≤50 cal → nearest 5-cal increment; >50 cal → nearest 10-cal increment |
| Total fat | <0.5 g → 0; <5 g → nearest 0.5 g; ≥5 g → nearest 1 g |
| Saturated fat | <0.5 g → 0; <5 g → nearest 0.5 g; ≥5 g → nearest 1 g |
| Trans fat | <0.5 g → 0 (when declared); <5 g → nearest 0.5 g; ≥5 g → nearest 1 g |
| Cholesterol | <2 mg → 0; 2–5 mg → may state “less than 5 mg”; otherwise nearest 5-mg increment |
| Sodium | <5 mg → 0; 5–140 mg → nearest 5-mg increment; >140 mg → nearest 10-mg increment |
| Total carbohydrate | <0.5 g → 0; <1 g → may state “Contains less than 1 gram”; ≥1 g → nearest gram |
| Dietary fiber | <0.5 g → 0; <1 g → declaration optional or “less than 1 gram”; ≥1 g → nearest gram |
| Total sugars | <0.5 g → 0; <1 g → may state “less than 1 gram”; ≥1 g → nearest gram |
| Added sugars | <0.5 g → 0; <1 g → may state “less than 1 gram”; ≥1 g → nearest gram |
| Sugar alcohol | <0.5 g → 0; <1 g → may state “less than 1 gram”; ≥1 g → nearest gram |
| Protein | <0.5 g → 0; <1 g → may state “less than 1 gram”; ≥1 g → nearest gram |
| Vitamins/minerals %DV | ≤10% → nearest 2%; >10% to 50% → nearest 5%; >50% → nearest 10% |
| Vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium (quantitative amount) | No separate per-nutrient rounding table; (c)(8)(iii) says quantitative amounts use the units and levels of significance listed in the (c)(8)(iv) table (mcg for vitamin D, mg for calcium/iron/potassium), given as whole numbers, with trailing zeros dropped and extra decimal places allowed when needed (e.g., iron to the nearest tenth of a mg). Amounts under 2% of the RDI may be shown as 0, with an asterisk statement, or, for these four mandatory nutrients, omitted in favor of “Not a significant source of ___.” |
On the label
Take a jerky snack with 140 mg of sodium per 30 g serving. That’s exactly at the 5-to-140 mg band, so it rounds to the nearest 5 mg. If the lab value comes back at 138 mg, the label prints “140 mg,” not “138 mg” or rounded to the nearest 10. Bump the recipe to 145 mg and you cross into the >140 mg band, which now rounds to the nearest 10 mg, so 145 mg becomes “150 mg.” A cookie with 0.4 g of added sugar per serving can state “0 g,” but at 0.6 g it must either round to “1 g” or use “Contains less than 1 gram”; it can’t simply drop the value. For calories, a granola bar testing at 118 calories rounds to the nearest 10 (it’s over 50), landing at “120,” while a spice blend at 4 calories per 1/4 tsp serving rounds down to “0.”
Mistakes we see
- Rounding sodium to the nearest 10 mg across the board instead of switching increments at the 140 mg breakpoint.
- Applying calorie rounding (nearest 5 or 10) to gram-based nutrients like protein, which round to the nearest whole gram instead.
- Declaring “0 g” for a sugar or fiber value that’s actually between 0.5 g and 1 g, when the rule requires either a rounded “1 g” or the specific “less than 1 gram” wording, not a silent zero.
- Rounding %DV using the nutrient’s own rounding increment instead of the separate 2%/5%/10% scale that applies to %DV itself.
- Guessing at rounding for less common nutrients (like sugar alcohol) instead of confirming the current eCFR text, since increments have shifted with past rule updates.
Related rules
Rounding only happens once serving size rules has fixed the serving a nutrient amount is measured against, and it feeds directly into what is a RACC since a wrong reference amount changes every downstream rounded value. For the %DV mechanics themselves (reference values, not just rounding), see percent daily value.
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FAQ
Why do sodium and calories round differently from sugars and protein?
21 CFR 101.9(c) sets a separate increment for each nutrient based on the size of the numbers typically involved: sodium and calories run into the hundreds, so they round in 5s and 10s, while sugars and protein round to the nearest whole gram.
Can I just round every nutrient to the nearest whole number?
No. Each nutrient in 101.9(c)(1) through (c)(9) has its own increment and its own zero threshold, so a single across-the-board rounding rule will misstate several values.
What does "less than 1 gram" mean on a label?
For carbohydrate, fiber, sugars, added sugars, sugar alcohol, and protein, 101.9(c) allows a 'Contains less than 1 gram' or 'less than 1 gram' statement instead of a rounded gram value when the serving falls under 1 gram but at or above 0.5 gram.
How is %DV rounded once the nutrient amount is set?
Separately from the nutrient amount itself: 101.9(c)(8)(iii) rounds %DV to the nearest 2% up to 10%, the nearest 5% from above 10% through 50%, and the nearest 10% above 50%.
Related rules
What is a RACC?, Serving size rules, Percent Daily Value (%DV). See the full all labeling rules.