Mexico food labelling rules: the NOM-051 checklist

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.

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.

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.

Start this weekend

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.