Free food label serving size finder for Canada and the US
Every Nutrition Facts panel starts with a serving size, and that serving size is set by a reference amount (RACC) the regulator has already fixed for your food. Describe your food, pick Canada or the US, and Complion returns the official FDA or CFIA reference amount, with the exact table it comes from.
No account needed. Works for Canadian and US labels.
The finder gives you the reference amount and its source. Set it wrong and every per-serving number on the panel is off, and a non-compliant reprint runs $5,000 to $50,000. When you want the whole label built and verified, our food-compliance experts do it on a free call.
The call is free. We scope your label and set pricing on the call.
What a reference amount (RACC) is, and why it decides your serving size
RACC stands for Reference Amount Customarily Consumed, the FDA’s term for how much of a food a person typically eats at one time. The regulator sets one for every category of food and publishes it in a table. You do not get to choose it.
Your label serving size is built from that reference amount: you express it as a household measure ("2 tbsp", "1 cup", "3 pieces") and the matching weight in grams. Because every per-serving number on the Nutrition Facts panel is calculated from the serving size, a wrong reference amount quietly makes the whole panel wrong. This is one of the most common mistakes first-time founders make, and it is easy to avoid once you know the right figure.
This finder returns that figure for your food, and shows you the exact table row it comes from, so you can set your serving size on solid ground.
Who it is for
The serving size finder is built for food and beverage founders getting a first product to shelf without a compliance team, a regulatory consultant, or a background in 21 CFR. If you are about to run a nutrient analysis, lay out a Nutrition Facts panel, or send a label to the printer and you are not sure what serving size to use, start here.
It is a fast, focused answer to one question, not a replacement for the whole label. When you are ready to send files to the printer, Complion can build and verify your entire label for you.
How it works, in three steps
Choose your market
Canada or the US. The finder applies the right reference-amount table: FDA for the US, CFIA and Health Canada for Canada.
Describe your food
In plain words: "roasted salted almonds", "oat milk", "tomato pasta sauce". No category codes needed.
Get the reference amount
The official amount that anchors your serving size, plus the exact table and row it comes from, so you can check the work.
What a result looks like
Each result is the regulator's own figure, with the table it comes from. Below is an illustrative example so you know what to expect before you search.
Reference amount 30 g
The FDA reference amount for Nuts, seeds and mixtures.
Source 21 CFR 101.12, Table 2
The tables behind every reference amount
Complion does not guess a serving size. Every reference amount comes from a published regulatory table, cited so you can check the work yourself or hand it to whoever signs off on your label.
The FDA's Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACCs) in 21 CFR 101.12: Table 2 for the general food supply and Table 1 for infant and young-child foods. These set the serving size basis for the Nutrition Facts panel.
Health Canada's Table of Reference Amounts for Food, applied with the CFIA labelling requirements. Canada's reference amounts are largely harmonised with the US but are not identical, so the market you choose changes the answer.
The finder is a fast lookup, not legal approval. When you want a label you can send to the printer with confidence, our food-compliance experts build and verify the whole thing against these same tables.
Built and maintained by food-compliance experts
The serving size finder uses the same reference-amount tables Complion's food-compliance experts rely on when they build and verify print-ready labels by hand. The team, based in Vancouver, BC, keeps the tables aligned with current FDA, USDA, Health Canada, and CFIA requirements, so the amount you get reflects how a specialist would set your serving size.
Reviewed under Eiman Raouf, Complion's Food Compliance and Regulatory Advisor, who brings 23+ years across food safety and regulatory compliance and has worked with the FDA, CFIA, and retailers.
Read up on serving sizes
Want to understand how reference amounts turn into a serving size on your panel? These founder guides walk through it in plain language.
Questions about reference amounts and serving sizes
Good to know
What does RACC stand for?
RACC stands for Reference Amount Customarily Consumed. It is the FDA's fixed amount for a food category: how much of that food people typically eat in one sitting. That figure determines the serving size and every per-serving nutrition number on a Nutrition Facts panel. Health Canada uses the same reference-amount concept for Canadian labels.
What is a reference amount (RACC)?
A reference amount (the FDA calls it the Reference Amount Customarily Consumed, or RACC) is the amount of a food a person typically eats in one sitting, set by the regulator for each category of food. It is the starting point for the serving size on your Nutrition Facts panel. You do not get to pick it; it is fixed in a published table.
How is the reference amount different from the serving size on my label?
The reference amount is the regulator's fixed figure for the food category. Your label serving size is derived from it: you convert the reference amount into a household measure (for example "2 tbsp" or "1 cup") and the corresponding weight in grams. Get the reference amount wrong and the serving size, and every per-serving nutrient number on the panel, is wrong too.
Where do FDA reference amounts come from?
The finder pulls from 21 CFR 101.12, Table 2, the FDA's table of Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed Per Eating Occasion for the general food supply, plus Table 1 for infant and young-child foods. It matches your food to the right category and returns the reference amount, citing the row.
Where do Canadian reference amounts come from?
From Health Canada's Table of Reference Amounts for Food, used with the CFIA labelling requirements. Canada and the US have largely harmonised their reference amounts, but they are not identical, so it matters which market you pick before you search.
Is the finder free? Do I need an account?
Yes, it is free, and no account is needed to look up a reference amount. Describe your food, pick your market, and you will see the amount and the table it comes from right away.
Does this replace an expert review of my label?
No. The finder gives you the reference amount and its source so you can set your serving size correctly. It is not legal approval. When you want a print-ready label built and verified end to end (serving size, Nutrition Facts panel, ingredients, and allergens) our food-compliance experts do that on a free call.
Turn the right serving size into a print-ready label
Book a free call and our experts will build and verify your entire label (serving size, Nutrition Facts panel, ingredients, and allergens) against every rule.
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