US Food Compliance Software: FDA, FALCPA & FASTER Act

If you make and sell food in the United States, your labels and records have to satisfy a different rulebook than the UK's: the FDA's regulations under Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), and the FASTER Act that added sesame as the ninth major allergen in January 2023. Most small producers piece this together across spreadsheets, Word templates and online generators. FoodCore brings it into one place. As FDA compliance software for small food business owners, it generates the panels, allergen statements and costing you need from your recipe data.

What makes FoodCore different is a single switch. FoodCore is built for both the UK and the US, and the difference is one per-account Compliance Region setting: United Kingdom, United States, or Both. Choose United States and your allergen list becomes the Big 9, your nutrition label becomes an FDA-format Nutrition Facts panel, your units gain ounces and pounds, your costing moves to USD, and the AI assistant starts reasoning under US food law. There is no separate "US edition" to buy and no migration — it is the same product, configured for your market.

This is practical US food compliance software for the people who actually run small kitchens: a baker selling cookies at a farmers market, a packaged-food maker preparing for a retail buyer, a cottage-food producer who needs a clean ingredient statement, or a UK brand exporting to the US for the first time. You get the structure of FDA and FALCPA without hiring a labelling consultant for every recipe change.

Below is exactly what changes when you select United States, how the Both mode works for cross-border sellers, and an honest side-by-side of the UK and US frameworks. For the deep dives, see our FDA Nutrition Facts label software, FALCPA allergen labeling software and US food labeling software pages.

What switches when you select United States

One setting in Settings (or at onboarding) reconfigures the whole account for US food law.

Compliance Region setting

One per-account control with three options — United Kingdom, United States, or Both. It governs allergens, nutrition format, units, currency, label blocks and AI reasoning across the entire account. Set it at onboarding or change it later in Settings.

The Big 9 allergens

Milk, Eggs, Fish, Crustacean Shellfish, Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Wheat, Soybeans and Sesame. US labelling terms are applied automatically and non-US allergens (mustard, celery, lupin, sulphites, molluscs) are excluded from US declarations. See FALCPA allergen labeling software.

FDA-format Nutrition Facts

An FDA-format Nutrition Facts panel with a % Daily Value column based on the FDA reference values in 21 CFR 101.9, including Trans Fat, Cholesterol and Added Sugars, servings per container and the 2,000-calorie footnote. Details on the FDA label software page.

US customary units

Ounces (oz), pounds (lb) and fluid ounces (fl oz) alongside metric, with accurate conversions (1 oz = 28.3495 g, 1 lb = 453.592 g, 1 fl oz = 29.5735 ml) used throughout recipes and costing.

USD costing

USD ($) is used across recipe costing, ingredients, the cost calculator, menus, shopping lists, meal planning, orders and analytics. (Your platform subscription and AI-credit purchases are billed in GBP.)

Region-aware AI assistant

On US accounts the AI compliance assistant reasons under FDA 21 CFR, FALCPA and the FASTER Act, returning structured findings (severity, issue, rationale, action). It is AI-assisted guidance, not legal advice.

UK & US in one tool (Both mode)

Selling on both sides of the Atlantic? You don't need two products.

Set the Compliance Region to Both and FoodCore keeps the UK and US frameworks active together. Your allergen handling references both the UK 14 allergens and the US Big 9, your nutrition options include UK-style information and the FDA Nutrition Facts panel, and the AI assistant reasons against both UK and US food law when it reviews a recipe or label.

This is the mode most exporters use. A UK bakery shipping to a US distributor can keep its existing UK labels while generating an FDA-format panel and a Big 9 "Contains:" statement for the same products — without re-keying recipes or maintaining a parallel system. When you are ready to focus on one market, switch the region and the account follows.

FoodCore account settings screen where the Compliance Region is configured

FoodCore Settings — where the per-account Compliance Region is set.

UK vs US food frameworks

The two regimes FoodCore supports, side by side. See the full breakdown in our FDA vs UK labeling comparison.

Area	United Kingdom	United States
Core framework	FIR 2014 / Natasha's Law (PPDS)	FDA 21 CFR / FALCPA / FASTER Act
Major allergens	14 (incl. celery, mustard, lupin, sulphites, molluscs)	9 — Big 9, including sesame (FASTER Act, Jan 2023)
Nutrition format	Per 100g/100ml nutrition information	FDA-format Nutrition Facts with % Daily Value
Allergen statement	Allergens emphasised (bold) within ingredients	"Contains:" statement with allergens bolded
Units & currency	Metric · GBP (£)	US customary + metric · USD ($) costing
In FoodCore	Compliance Region: United Kingdom	Compliance Region: United States (or Both)

Who it's for

Small US food businesses — and UK businesses heading to the US.

US bakeries & cottage food

Generate Big 9 allergen statements and FDA-format Nutrition Facts panels for cookies, breads and packaged goods sold at markets, online or wholesale.

Packaged-food makers

Preparing for a retail buyer or co-packer? Build consistent ingredient lists, allergen declarations and Nutrition Facts straight from your recipe data.

Exporters (UK → US)

Use Both mode to keep UK labels while producing FDA-format panels and Big 9 statements for US distribution — one system, two markets.

Caterers & meal prep

Keep allergen and nutrition information accurate across large, changing US menus with USD costing built in.

Common questions

What does the Compliance Region setting do?

FoodCore has one per-account Compliance Region setting with three options: United Kingdom, United States, or Both. Selecting United States switches your allergen list, nutrition label format, units of measure, currency, label blocks and AI reasoning to US food law. You set it in Settings or during onboarding, and it applies across your whole account.

Which allergens does the US setting use?

The United States setting uses the 9 major allergens defined by FALCPA and the FASTER Act: Milk, Eggs, Fish, Crustacean Shellfish, Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Wheat, Soybeans and Sesame. Sesame became the 9th major allergen under the FASTER Act, effective January 2023. FoodCore applies US labelling terms automatically and excludes non-US allergens such as mustard, celery, lupin, sulphites and molluscs from US declarations. More on our FALCPA allergen labeling software page and in our guide to the FALCPA Big 9 allergens.

Does FoodCore generate an FDA Nutrition Facts panel?

Yes. On US accounts FoodCore produces an FDA-format Nutrition Facts panel with a % Daily Value column based on the FDA reference values in 21 CFR 101.9, including Calories, Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Total Carbohydrate, Dietary Fiber, Total Sugars, Added Sugars and Protein, plus servings per container and the 2,000-calorie footnote. Note the panel uses standard rounding, not the FDA's exact incremental rounding rules. See our FDA Nutrition Facts requirements guide.

Can I work in both UK and US compliance at once?

Yes. The Both mode keeps UK and US frameworks active together, so your labels, allergens and AI guidance reference both the UK 14 allergens and FDA Nutrition Facts, and the US Big 9. It is useful for businesses that export to the US or sell on both sides of the Atlantic.

What currency does FoodCore use for US accounts?

US accounts use USD ($) across recipe costing, ingredients, the cost calculator, menus, shopping lists, meal planning, orders and analytics. Your platform subscription and AI-credit purchases are billed in GBP.

Does the AI assistant understand US food law?

Yes. On US accounts the region-aware AI compliance assistant reasons under FDA 21 CFR, FALCPA and the FASTER Act when it analyses recipes, ingredients and labels. It returns structured findings with severity, issue, rationale and suggested action. It is AI-assisted guidance, not legal advice.

Who is FoodCore US compliance software for?

It is built for small US food businesses: bakeries, packaged-food makers, commissary and cottage-food producers, and UK businesses exporting to the US. It is not enterprise software with an enterprise price tag. Explore the full feature set on our product page.

How much does it cost and is there a trial?

FoodCore Essentials is $19/mo equivalent (£19) and Core is £55/mo. Both come with a 7-day free trial and no card required. You can sign up yourself at signup.foodcore.io or see pricing.

US food compliance software for small food businesses