# 21 CFR § 101.1: Principal display panel of package form food

> Federal · Regulations · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.1

## Section

- **Citation:** 21 CFR § 101.1
- **Heading:** Principal display panel of package form food
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Regulations
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** September 22, 2026
- **Source:** Publisher's official text
- **Location:** Title 21—Food and Drugs > CHAPTER I—FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES > SUBCHAPTER B—FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION > PART 101—FOOD LABELING > Subpart A—General Provisions

## Text

The term principal display panel as it applies to food in package form and as used in this part, means the part of a label that is most likely to be displayed, presented, shown, or examined under customary conditions of display for retail sale. The principal display panel shall be large enough to accommodate all the mandatory label information required to be placed thereon by this part with clarity and conspicuousness and without obscuring design, vignettes, or crowding. Where packages bear alternate principal display panels, information required to be placed on the principal display panel shall be duplicated on each principal display panel. For the purpose of obtaining uniform type size in declaring the quantity of contents for all packages of substantially the same size, the term area of the principal display panel means the area of the side or surface that bears the principal display panel, which area shall be:
(a) In the case of a rectangular package where one entire side properly can be considered to be the principal display panel side, the product of the height times the width of that side;
(b) In the case of a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical container, 40 percent of the product of the height of the container times the circumference;
(c) In the case of any otherwise shaped container, 40 percent of the total surface of the container: Provided, however, That where such container presents an obvious “principal display panel” such as the top of a triangular or circular package of cheese, the area shall consist of the entire top surface. In determining the area of the principal display panel, exclude tops, bottoms, flanges at tops and bottoms of cans, and shoulders and necks of bottles or jars. In the case of cylindrical or nearly cylindrical containers, information required by this part to appear on the principal display panel shall appear within that 40 percent of the circumference which is most likely to be displayed, presented, shown, or examined under customary conditions of display for retail sale.

## Nearby sections

- [21 CFR § 101.1 § 101.1 Principal display panel of package form food.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.1.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.2 § 101.2 Information panel of package form food.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.2.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.3 § 101.3 Identity labeling of food in packaged form.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.3.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.4 § 101.4 Food; designation of ingredients.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.4.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.5 § 101.5 Food; name and place of business of manufacturer, packer, or distributor.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.5.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.7 § 101.7 Declaration of net quantity of contents.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.7.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.8 § 101.8 Vending machines.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.8.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.9 § 101.9 Nutrition labeling of food.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.9.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.10 § 101.10 Nutrition labeling of restaurant foods whose labels or labeling bear nutrient content claims or health claims.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.10.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.11 § 101.11 Nutrition labeling of standard menu items in covered establishments.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.11.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.12 § 101.12 Reference amounts customarily consumed per eating occasion.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.12.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.13 § 101.13 Nutrient content claims—general principles.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.13.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.14 § 101.14 Health claims: general requirements.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.14.md)
- [21 CFR § 101.15 § 101.15 Food; prominence of required statements.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.15.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-21-101.1. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.