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Food Labeling

Overview

Governmental intervention in food labeling typically aims at improving human health and safety, supporting domestic agricultural and food manufacturing industries, and averting international trade disputes. Pursuant to the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and its amendments, food labeling addresses nutritional information and is required for most prepared foods, such as breads, cereals, canned and frozen foods, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc., whereas nutrition labeling for raw produce (fruits and vegetables) and fish is voluntary.
Read the full overview

Note: Recently added resources are posted at the top of the applicable sections.

Major Statutes

Agriculture Marketing Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 1621-1638

Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1385

Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1451-1461

Federal Alcohol Administration Act, 27 U.S.C. §§ 201-219

Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 301-399

Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, 21 U.S.C § 343

Meat Inspection Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 606-611, 619

Poultry and Poultry Products Inspection Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 457-458

Regulations

Food Labeling, 16 C.F.R. Parts 500-503

General Regulations for the Enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
21 C.F.R. Parts 1-99

Food Labeling, 21 C.F.R. Parts 100-169

Food Additives, 21 C.F.R. Parts 170-199

General FDA Dietary Supplement Regulations, 21 C.F.R. §§ 190

Federal Register Rules Open for Comment

Federal Register Digest

Case Law

Case Law Index for Food Labeling

Administrative Law Decisions

FDA Dockets Management

Federal Trade Commission Actions

Office of the Administrative Law Judges

USDA National Appeals Division

USDA Judicial Officer's Decisions

Center Research Publications

Alabama Direct Farm Business Guide (Tarr, Revels & Rumley)

Mississippi Direct Farm Business Guide (Tarr, Cunningham & Rumley)

Food Labeling for Specialty Crop Producers (E. Rumley, 2012)

Non-GMO Labeling (E. and R. Rumley, 2012)

Legal and Business Guide for Specialty Crop Producers (National AgLaw Center & U. AR Division of Agriculture)

State-Level Catfish Labeling Laws (Springsteen, 2008)

United States Food Law Update II (Roberts, 2006)

United States Food Law Update (Roberts & Alsbrook, 2005)

European Union Food Law Update II (Coutrelis, 2006)

European Union Food Law Update (Coutrelis, 2005)

Congressional Research Service Reports

CRS Subject(s):
Biotechnology
Animal Agriculture
Food Safety

Agricultural Law Bibliography

Introduction | Keyword Search | Browse Categories

Legal publications on Food Labeling:
Biotechnology
Food and Drug Law
Fruits and Vegetables - Perishable Agricultural Commodities
Pesticides, Herbicides, Insecticides, Fungicides, Fertilizers

Reference Resources

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
Food Purchase Specifications
Quality Standards

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (U.S. Department of Treasury)
Advertising
Beer Homepage
Distilled Spirits Homepage
Labeling
Wine Homepage
COLA Registry Database

Economic Research Service (ERS)
The Economics of Food Labeling

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide for Industry
Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
FTC Health Publications

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Guidance for Industry: A Food Labeling Guide
Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition

Draft Guidance for Industry: Voluntary Labeling Indicating Whether Foods Have
or Have Not Been Developed Using Bioengineering

Qualified Health Claims
Center for Veterinary Medicine: Pet Foods
Food Ingredients & Packaging
Food Label & Package Survey 2000-2001
How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Panel
The Food Pyramid: The Food Label Connection
Transfats Labeling Information

Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)
Food Labeling Fact Sheets
General Labeling Policies
Ingredients Policies
Labeling and Consumer Protection Service
Organics and Other Labeling Claim Policies
Packaging Policies

Other Federal Resources

Child Nutrition Labeling

National Agricultural Library Food and Nutrition Information Center (NAL)

Food Labeling Topic Page (NAL)

What's In The Foods You Eat Search Tool (Agricultural Research Service

FDA Needs to Better Leverage Resources, Improve Oversight, and Effectively Use
Available Data to Help Consumers Select Healthy Foods (GAO-08-597)

Federal Citizen Information Center

National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S. Department of Commerce)

Fact Sheet on Metric Labeling for Consumer Packages

State Weights and Measures Laws

International Resources

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Ecolabelling and Fisheries Guidelines
Labeling to Communicate

World Health Organization (WHO)
Nutrition Labels and Health Claims: The Global Regulatory Environment

World Trade Organization (WTO)
Dispute Settelement Gateway
Geographical Indications
TRIPS Agreement
WTO Publications

Agreement Between the United States and the European Community on Trade in Wine

Agreement Between the United States and Mexico on Trade in Tequila

European Union
Regulation Concerning the Traceability and Labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms
Homepage for Labelling and Nutrition Issues
Product Labelling and Packaging
Labelling of Animal Feed Materials

Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

Publications

Food Labeling: Toward National Uniformity (National Academies Press, 1992)

Additional Resources

Food Labeling Posts (United States Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog)

Food and Drug Law Institute

Foodlaw.org (Institute for Food Laws and Regulations, MI St. U.)

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