Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
| Quick facts | What is a RACC? |
|---|---|
| Regulation | 21 CFR 101.12 |
| Applies to | Any packaged food required to bear a Nutrition Facts label |
| Key numbers | Table 1: infant (<12 mo) and child (1–3 yr) foods. Table 2: everyone else, 4+ categories by weight/volume. RACC converts to label serving size per 101.9(b). |
Answering the question
A RACC (Reference Amount Customarily Consumed) is the FDA’s official figure for how much of a food people actually eat in one sitting, and it’s what turns into the serving size on your Nutrition Facts label. It comes from 21 CFR 101.12, which sets these amounts by food category rather than leaving it to you. There are two tables: Table 1 covers foods made for infants under 12 months and children 1 to 3 years old, and Table 2 covers everyone 4 and older across the general food supply. You don’t choose your RACC. You look up your product’s category and the regulation gives you the number.
The rule
21 CFR 101.12 states that FDA “calculated the reference amounts for persons 4 years of age or older to reflect the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion by persons in this population,” based on national food consumption survey data, not on what a package happens to hold or what you’d prefer to claim. Table 1 uses separate consumption data for infants and for children age 1 to 3, reflecting that a toddler and an adult don’t eat the same amount of applesauce in one sitting. Table 2 lists reference amounts for the general population across dozens of named product categories, from bagels to yogurt to hot sauce.
The RACC by itself is not what appears on your label. Once you know your product’s reference amount, 21 CFR 101.9(b) governs the next step: converting that reference amount into a label serving size expressed in a household measure (cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, piece, or slice) followed by the metric equivalent in parentheses. For products sold as discrete units (like cookies or crackers), 101.9(b)(2)(i) also determines whether your serving size is one unit, a fraction of a unit, or multiple units, based on how the actual unit weight compares to the RACC. That conversion process is its own rule; see our serving size rules page for the household-measure math.
The numbers
Here are RACC values for common products, verified directly against 21 CFR 101.12 Table 2:
| Product | RACC (21 CFR 101.12, Table 2) |
|---|---|
| Hot sauce (minor condiment) | 1 tsp |
| Salsa (dip) | 2 tbsp |
| Jerky (dried meat/poultry/fish) | 30 g |
| Cookies | 30 g |
| Bread (excluding sweet quick-type), rolls | 50 g |
| Yogurt | 170 g |
| Ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet | 2/3 cup |
| Carbonated and noncarbonated beverages | 360 mL |
| Pasta, plain | 140 g prepared; 55 g dry |
| Honey, jams, jellies, fruit butter | 1 tbsp |
Two things trip people up. First, a category can carry more than one RACC depending on form: pasta has a dry weight and a prepared weight, and you use whichever matches how the product is sold. Second, some categories are grouped by a physical trait rather than a familiar name: ready-to-eat cereal is banded by grams per cup (under 20 g/cup, 20 to under 43 g/cup, and 43 g/cup or more), each with its own reference amount, and granola typically falls into one of those cereal bands rather than having its own listed line. Check the actual cup weight against Table 2 rather than assuming.
On the label
Say you’re launching a hot sauce. Table 2 lists “minor condiments (horseradish, hot sauces, mustards, Worcestershire)” at a 1 tsp reference amount. Your serving size line becomes “1 tsp (5 mL)”: the household measure first, the metric equivalent in parentheses, per 101.9(b)(5) and (b)(7). If you guessed “2 tbsp” instead because that’s what a typical serving on a taco looks like, that’s six times the legal reference amount, and every %DV on the panel would be calculated, and printed, wrong as a result. A granola bar, by contrast, lands in the “grain-based bars” category at 40 g regardless of how thick or thin the individual bar is cut, so the reference amount stays fixed even as package sizes vary.
Mistakes we see
- Estimating a serving size from the package’s total weight instead of looking up the category’s RACC.
- Using a RACC from a similar-sounding category, e.g., treating a fruit chutney like a sauce category instead of the “fruit chutneys” line, which sits with jams and jellies at 1 tbsp.
- Forgetting that discrete-unit products (crackers, cookies) still need the 101.9(b)(2)(i) unit-count step after finding the RACC. The reference amount alone doesn’t tell you if the serving is “1 cracker” or “12 crackers.”
- Applying the general Table 2 amount to a product actually marketed for children under 4, where Table 1 controls instead.
- Assuming a new or unusual product has no RACC at all, rather than checking whether it fits an existing category’s description.
Related rules
The RACC is step one; serving size rules covers step two: converting it to the household measure and unit count that actually prints on the panel. Once serving size is set, rounding rules govern how every nutrient value on that panel gets rounded, and dual-column when required explains when a package’s RACC-to-package-size ratio forces a second column.
Build it right the first time
Our builder matches your product to its 21 CFR 101.12 category automatically and sets the correct RACC and serving size before you touch a single nutrient value.
Starting from the right RACC means every number below the serving size line is built on solid ground. Enter your recipe, then see your label: its shape and calorie count, the claims you qualify for and your allergen line are free, no card required, and every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, and your ingredient statement and allergen declaration, ready to print. Start your label or read the serving size rules for the next step.
FAQ
Can I pick my own serving size instead of using the RACC?
No. The RACC sets the reference amount for your product category, and 21 CFR 101.9(b) governs how that reference amount becomes the label serving size and household measure. It isn't a preference call.
Is the RACC the same as the serving size printed on my label?
Not exactly. The RACC is the reference amount in grams or milliliters; the label serving size is that amount converted into a household measure and, for discrete units, rounded to whole units per 101.9(b).
Where do I find the RACC for my product?
21 CFR 101.12 Table 2 lists it by food category (Table 1 covers infant and young-child foods). Our serving-size wizard matches your product to its category automatically.
What if my product doesn't fit any listed category?
21 CFR 101.12 provides a petition process for foods without a listed category, and in the meantime FDA's reference-amount guidance says to use the category the food most closely resembles. Talk to a food-labeling attorney or your state regulator if your product genuinely falls outside every listed category.
Related rules
Serving size rules, Rounding rules, When is dual column required?. See the full all labeling rules.