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Walmart Pallet Label Requirements and Case Labels for Food Suppliers

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Checked against Walmart's own published pages on October 6, 2026.

If you sell food or beverages to Walmart or Sam's Club, the Walmart pallet label requirements are only half the job. Walmart's own pages say every food pallet carries an SSCC-18 barcode linked to your Advance Ship Notice (ASN), and every food case carries a GS1-128 barcode with the GTIN, a date code and a lot code. Below is what Walmart publishes, quoted from its own documents, and what it takes to print and apply those labels on a packing line.

Requirements change. This page reflects Walmart's pages as read on October 6, 2026. Your own Walmart supplier agreements and Walmart's current pages govern, and Walmart says its own FAQ "should not be considered legal guidance." Marapack Services is not affiliated with or endorsed by Walmart.

Need to know whether your line can print these labels? Book an equipment audit and we will tell you what it takes on your cases and pallets.

What are the Walmart pallet label requirements?

Walmart requires an SSCC-18 barcode, in GS1-128 format with Application Identifier (00), on every pallet label, linked to the ASN for that shipment. Labels go on at least two adjacent sides of the pallet, preferably the upper right corner. Walmart publishes no template, and its own company prefix may not appear in your SSCC.

Quoted from Walmart's Supply Chain Standards (edition dated April 3, 2026) and its Food Traceability Requirements page:

How an SSCC is built, digit by digit, is in our guide to GS1-128 element strings.

What must a Walmart case label carry?

A food or beverage case shipped to Walmart needs a GS1-128 barcode encoding, at a minimum, the orderable GTIN, a date code and a batch or lot code, with the correct Application Identifiers. The date in the barcode must match the date in your ASN, and the barcode goes on at least two sides of the case.

In Walmart's April 2026 standards: "The barcode applied to these items are required to include, at a minimum, the orderable GTIN, a date code, and a batch/lot code," and "It is required to have matching date codes for your case GS1-128 barcode and your ASN." Acceptable dates: production, harvest or pack, best before, sell by and expiration.

Walmart case barcode rule What the standards say
Minimum size 3 in long by 0.75 in high
Position at least 3/4 in from the case edge, 1.25 in from the bottom
Quiet zone at least 0.25 in left and right
Print quality ANSI grade B or higher for print and apply labels; grade C or higher printed directly on corrugate
Data fields no single field over 20 characters
Sides at least 2, one of them the longest
Durability labels flat; ink must not smear on contact

Produce in Department 94 uses the PTI case label instead, and Walmart says "You are required to use the GS1-128 barcode on the PTI label"; see our PTI case labeling page. Which Application Identifier carries which date is explained in how lot and date codes differ.

Who do the requirements cover, and from when?

Walmart's food traceability page says the requirements apply to all Walmart Inc. food suppliers regardless of brand, through any channel of distribution, at Walmart and Sam's Club. Food Traceability List items were due August 1, 2025, and Walmart's October 2, 2025 update extends the ASN and packaging requirements to all food and beverage items as of August 1, 2025; enforcement begins with listed foods.

From Walmart's Food Traceability Requirements page:

The Sam's Club Structural Packaging Standards (Version 6, July 2026) add that "Freight rejections, fees, or charge-backs will be assessed if pallets fail to meet Sam's Club pallet requirements." Sam's Club's labeling guide governs its label specifics.

How do the case and pallet labels tie to the ASN?

Walmart matches what it scans to what you sent electronically. The SSCC on each pallet label must be the SSCC in your ASN, and the date in each case barcode must match the ASN date. The ASN carries the Key Data Elements, including GTIN, lot, date codes and the traceability lot code source.

Walmart's Food Traceability KDE Requirements sheet lists what the ASN (EDI) or EPCIS (API) carries, among it the PO number, SSCC-18, GTIN, lot or batch number, the traceability lot code source, quantities and all available date codes.

So the labels and the ASN have to come from the same data. A pallet label printed from one system and an ASN built in another is the mismatch receiving is set up to catch.

We do not sell EDI, ASN or label design software. We connect the printer on the line to the system that already holds your GTINs, lots, dates and SSCC serials, so the label carries what the ASN says.

What equipment prints and applies Walmart case and pallet labels?

Three jobs, three kinds of machine. A print and apply head prints the variable GS1-128 case label and places it on the case. A thermal inkjet coder prints human readable date and lot text. A pallet labeling system prints the SSCC label and applies it to two adjacent faces of the finished load.

The case barcode: print and apply

The case barcode changes whenever the lot or date changes, so it is printed as it is applied: a thermal transfer print engine inside a print and apply head, such as the industrial ALcode head. Walmart's two-sides rule usually means two application points or one configuration that reaches both faces. See our print and apply machines.

Date and lot text: thermal inkjet

Our thermal inkjet printers print date and lot text directly on the case. Walmart allows a barcode "via label or direct printing to the carton," but a direct printed GS1-128 must still reach 0.75 in high and grade C on corrugate, and a single half inch printhead prints below that height. So it needs a taller configuration and a trial on your corrugate. Most food plants use a coder for the text and a label for the barcode; see case coding and date and lot coders.

The SSCC pallet label: pallet labelers

The ALcode P is Altech's dedicated pallet labeling system; it applies A5 labels to two adjacent faces in a single pallet stop, and Altech's ALcode P brochure gives "Up to 180 pallets p/hr single face, 120 pallets p/hr two face." Where the load sits in one fixed position, the ALrobot arm is a four axis articulated arm that reaches more than one face. The full pallet labeler range is on its own page.

We are the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, and we specify, install and service these machines. We do not grade barcodes or promise compliance or any chargeback outcome; whether a shipment passes is Walmart's call.

Want your labeling specified against Walmart's rules? Request a line walk and we will measure the cases, the line rate and the pallet station.

Does FSMA 204 change any of this?

Not for a Walmart supplier. FSMA 204 is FDA's recordkeeping rule for foods on its Food Traceability List, and FDA has proposed moving its compliance date to July 20, 2028. Walmart says that despite the proposal it expects suppliers to meet the original timelines, and its label rules cover all food.

FDA's Food Traceability List includes fresh herbs, leafy greens, cucumbers, melons, peppers, sprouts, tomatoes, tropical tree fruits, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, shell eggs, certain soft cheeses, nut butters, finfish, crustaceans, bivalve mollusks and refrigerated deli salads. Whole cherries, berries and apples are not on it. The date change is a proposal published August 7, 2025, not a final rule. Separately, FDA records that Congress, in Pub. L. 119-37, directed it not to enforce the Food Traceability Rule before July 20, 2028. More in our FSMA 204 and PTI guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does Walmart require CHEP pallets? No. Walmart's standards say: "Walmart does not endorse any specific brand of pallet. Pallets must meet or exceed the minimum pallet standards." Sam's Club likewise endorses no pallet pooler, and requires a 9 block pallet for domestic orders.

What is Walmart's pallet policy? Walmart's Supply Chain Standards set it: cases that fit a standard 48 in by 40 in footprint, pallets meeting its minimum standards, and an SSCC-18 label on two adjacent sides. Walmart updates the standards about every six months.

How do you label a pallet for shipping to Walmart? Print an SSCC-18 in GS1-128 format with your own company prefix, send that same SSCC in the ASN, and apply the label to at least two adjacent sides, preferably the upper right corner. Walmart calls placing it between layers of stretch wrap best practice.

Can we print the GS1-128 directly on the case? Walmart allows direct printing on the carton at ANSI grade C or better and at least 3 in by 0.75 in. Whether your printer and corrugate reach that has to be tested on your own case.

We pack whole cherries, which are not on the FDA list. Does Walmart's requirement apply? Walmart's page says its requirements apply to all food suppliers, regardless of brand, and that enforcement begins with products on the Food Traceability List. So the requirement applies; the enforcement sequence is Walmart's to set.

Do you sell the EDI or ASN software? No. We supply and service the printers, print and apply heads and pallet labelers, and connect them to the system that already holds your item, lot and serial data.

We ship through a third party consolidator. Does anything change? Walmart says suppliers using a third party consolidator must still submit an ASN, and may use one SSCC-18 to identify each consolidated PO or item on the pallet. Cases still need their GS1-128.

Find out what your line needs before a load is held

Tell us what you ship to Walmart or Sam's Club, how your cases and pallets are labeled today, and your line speed. We will tell you what has to change on the equipment side, if anything.

Call 253-709-5566, or schedule an equipment audit and get a written specification for your case and pallet labeling.

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We look at your labeling and coding stations on site, find the weak points, and tell you what to fix, rebuild or replace. Wherever you are in the US, tell us your state and we will route you to the right people.

Request an equipment audit253-709-5566