The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act sets label requirements for consumer products sold at retail: every covered package must state what the product is, who is responsible for it, and how much is inside, in a form the shopper can actually read and compare. The law was signed in 1966 and is codified at 15 USC Chapter 39.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC Ch. 39 – Fair Packaging and Labeling Program The FPLA labeling requirements below apply to any “consumer commodity,” and violations trigger enforcement by either the FDA or the FTC depending on the product.
Which Products the Rules Apply To
The statute covers “consumer commodities”: food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and any other product customarily sold at retail for personal or household use and consumed or used up in the process.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1459 – Definitions Dish soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, canned food, and over-the-counter medicine are the kind of items in scope. Products sold strictly for industrial or institutional use fall outside the law.
The Three Things Every Label Must Show
A covered label has to carry three pieces of information:
- The identity of the product, stated in the common name people use for it, or a clear description if there is no common name.
- The name and business address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor. The name must be the actual corporate name or the name under which the business operates, with city, state, and zip code.
- The net quantity of contents.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1453 – Requirements of Labeling, Placement, Form, and Contents of Statement4eCFR. 16 CFR Part 500 – Regulations Under Section 4 of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
The identity and responsible-party lines are relatively simple. The net quantity declaration is where most of the detailed rules live.
Net Quantity: Units, Placement, and Type Size
The net contents must be expressed in both customary units (pounds, ounces, fluid ounces) and SI metric units (grams, milliliters, liters). Food packaged at the retail store level is the one exception to the dual-unit rule.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1453 – Requirements of Labeling, Placement, Form, and Contents of Statement
Placement is prescribed. The quantity statement goes on the principal display panel — the face of the package the consumer sees first — within the bottom 30 percent. That placement rule relaxes for very small packages whose display panel is five square inches or less. The declaration also needs breathing room around it: blank space above and below equal to at least the height of the lettering, and space on either side equal to twice the width of the letter “N” in the type used.5eCFR. 16 CFR 500.6 – Net Quantity of Contents Declaration, Location Qualifying words like “jumbo quart” or “giant liter” are prohibited.
Minimum Letter Heights
Type size scales with the size of the principal display panel:
- 5 square inches or less: at least 1/16 inch (1.5 mm)
- More than 5 up to 25 square inches: at least 1/8 inch (3.1 mm)
- More than 25 up to 100 square inches: at least 3/16 inch (4.7 mm)
- More than 100 up to 400 square inches: at least 1/4 inch (6.35 mm)
- More than 400 square inches: at least 1/2 inch (12.7 mm)
If the quantity is embossed or molded into glass or plastic rather than printed, each minimum increases by 1/16 inch. No letter may be more than three times as tall as it is wide, which blocks artificially compressed type that meets the height rule but is unreadable.4eCFR. 16 CFR Part 500 – Regulations Under Section 4 of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
Slack-Fill and How Full the Package Has to Be
The FPLA lets regulators prevent “nonfunctional slack-fill” — packages that are much larger than the product inside requires.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1454 – Rules and Regulations Empty space is not automatically illegal. For food, the FDA regulation lists six reasons a package may legitimately be less than full:
- Protection of the contents
- Requirements of the machines used to enclose the contents
- Product settling during shipping and handling
- The package performs a function, such as a microwaveable tray
- The container has significant reusable or decorative value
- A smaller package would not accommodate required labeling, discourage pilferage, or meet other packaging needs
Empty space that fits none of those categories, in a container that hides how much is really inside, is treated as misleading.7eCFR. 21 CFR 100.100 – Misleading Containers
Size and Savings Claims
Price and size claims are also regulated. Terms like “economy size,” “cents off,” and similar characterizations of package size or savings can be restricted or defined by rule.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1454 – Rules and Regulations The same section lets regulators set standards for package size characterizations and, for non-food products, require ingredient lists in order of predominance.
Products the FPLA Does Not Cover
Several product categories are excluded from the statutory definition of “consumer commodity” and follow labeling rules set by other federal agencies:
- Meat, poultry, and their products (USDA)
- Tobacco products
- Prescription drugs (under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s pharmacy provisions)
- Alcoholic beverages (Federal Alcohol Administration Act, administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau)
- Seeds (Federal Seed Act)8GovInfo. 15 USC 1459 – Definitions
An enforcing agency can also exempt a specific product from some or all of the labeling requirements by regulation when full compliance is impractical because of the product’s form, nature, or quantity, provided consumers are still protected.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1454 – Rules and Regulations
Who Enforces the Law and What Violations Cost
Enforcement is split by product. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the FDA, administers the FPLA for food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices. The Federal Trade Commission handles every other consumer commodity.9Federal Trade Commission. Fair Packaging and Labeling Act – Regulations Under Section 4 of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
On the FDA side, a labeling violation renders the product “misbranded” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, exposing the manufacturer to seizures, injunctions, and, in serious cases, criminal prosecution.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1456 – Enforcement
On the FTC side, a violation is treated as an unfair or deceptive trade practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The FTC can issue cease-and-desist orders through administrative proceedings and, for knowing violations of an established rule, impose civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1456 – Enforcement11Federal Register.