Rules for Mexico · Last updated September 9, 2026

Mexico food labelling rules: the NOM-051 checklist

Mexico has one federal labelling rule, NOM-051, so the label is the same wherever in the country you sell. It must be in Spanish, and you choose between two date formats.

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Key takeaways

One federal rule, NOM-051, covering prepackaged food and non-alcoholic drinks.
The label must be in Spanish. Another language may sit beside it, never instead of it.
Two date options: "fecha de caducidad" or "consumir preferentemente antes de". Pick one.

What Mexico actually decides

Mexico labels prepackaged food under one federal rule for the whole country, which makes it simpler than any state-by-state system. NOM-051 and its 2020 amendment set what goes on the package: the denominación, ingredients in descending order, allergens, net content in metric, the lot, the date and, where they apply, the warning seals.

The language rule is absolute. Your label has to be in Spanish. You can add another language beside it, but the Spanish has to be there and everything the law asks for has to appear in Spanish.

Mexico wants a date and you pick which kind. "Fecha de caducidad" is the date after which the food should not be sold or eaten. "Consumir preferentemente antes de" is the date after which it is still safe but no longer at its best. Most home baking sits in the second category, but the choice is yours to make deliberately rather than by default.

One honest limit on this page. This guide covers the label. Whether you need a business registration, a sanitary filing or an operating permit is a separate question for the competent authority, and NOM-051 does not answer it.

The short version

what the rule is calledPrepackaged food labelling

when an inspector comesRoutine

annual sales limitNo cap

What you can sell in Mexico

Straight from the official record. Read these as categories rather than a menu, because one recipe can cross the line on its own: a filling that needs refrigeration, a pH that needs testing, or a process that needs an authority to sign it off.

Prepackaged foods and non-alcoholic beverages within the NOM-051 scope

What is outside the rule

If your product is on this list, the answer is not "ask nicely". It is a different licence, a different kitchen, or both.

Products outside the NOM-051 scope, which need a different rule set

Where you are allowed to sell it

The researched record lists direct sales, farmers markets, online orders, delivery.

One channel being open does not open the rest. Shipping, delivery and wholesale each turn on the product and where it is going, so check the route you actually plan to use.

Up nextPaperwork, training and inspections

Paperwork, training and inspections

The researched record does not list a general permit for this tier. This guide covers the label. Confirm any business, sanitary or operating filing separately with the competent authority.

No training is recorded as universally required. No training requirement is represented by the label record. Confirm the obligation for your product and operation.

Routine is what the record says about inspections. Confirm what that means for your product and your local authority, because the two can differ.

Kitchen rules people miss

None of these fit on a label, which is exactly why they get skipped. Read them before the first batch, not after.

Your label has to be in Spanish. You can add another language beside it, but everything the law asks for has to appear in Spanish.
Mexico wants a date and you choose which: "fecha de caducidad" for safety, or "consumir preferentemente antes de" for quality.
The label carries the denominación, ingredients in descending order, allergens, net content in metric, the lot and the date.
Warning seals apply where the product meets the thresholds.
This guide covers the label. Business, sanitary and operating filings are a separate question for the competent authority.

What belongs on a Mexico label

Secretaria de Economia, checked September 9, 2026

01Product name
02Ingredients in descending order
03Allergens
04Net content in metric
05Name and address of the responsible business
06Country of origin
07Lot code
08Expiry or best before date
09Warning seals if they apply
10All of it in Spanish
Required text at least 4.25 point. The nutrient table and the thresholds that decide a seal are outside this tool: you tick the seals your own numbers call for.

Make a Mexico NOM-051 label

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In this order, so the label is the last thing you check and not the first thing you guess.

Write the whole label in Spanish. Another language may sit beside it, never in place of it.
Choose your date type deliberately: caducidad for safety, consumir preferentemente for quality.
List ingredients in descending order by weight, and declare allergens.
Use metric for net content, and include the lot.
Ask the competent authority about business and sanitary filings. The label rule does not cover them.

Nearby places

Nearby guides

Neighboring US states look similar until the one difference that matters. Worth a read if you sell across a border, or if someone on the other side gave you advice.

Pairs well with

Keep going

ToolCottage food label makerTurn your recipe, allergens and required statement into a printable label.GuideCottage food business guideThe wider framework: product, kitchen, sales channel, label and local checks.GuideCottage food label requirementsEvery field a cottage food label needs, in the order to check them before you print.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Details were checked against public sources on September 9, 2026. Confirm current prices, policies, or provider instructions before relying on them.

Is this the whole Mexico rule?

No, and you should not treat it as one. This is the official source read carefully on September 9, 2026 and put in one place. Your city, your county, the market you sell at and your own product can each add a layer this page does not know about. Secretaria de Economia is the authority, not us.

Can I just use the label maker and skip this?

The label maker opens with the fields this jurisdiction requires, so it will get the sticker right. What it cannot do is tell you whether the recipe is allowed, whether your kitchen qualifies, or whether you can sell through the channel you had in mind. A correct label on a product you are not allowed to sell is still a problem.

Does the right label make me compliant?

No. The label is the last step and the most visible one, which is why it gets all the attention. The recipe, the kitchen, the training, the registration and the sales route all sit upstream of it, and any one of them can be the thing that is actually wrong.

More cottage food laws

Cottage food laws

Selling somewhere else too?

The rule changes with the kitchen, the product and the sales route. Pick another place to compare.

Go to another place

Free label maker

Rule in front of you? Make the label.

The label maker opens with these requirements already loaded. Build it, then read the finished sticker back against the official source before you print a full sheet.

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