21 U.S.C. § 341 — Definitions and standards for food

submitted 88 years ago by ch. 675 to r/title-21-FOOD-AND-DRUGS · 251 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

The Secretary can set official definitions and quality standards for foods to protect consumers. Fresh or dried fruits and vegetables, and butter, are mostly excluded from these standards. Any optional ingredients allowed in a food's standard must be listed on the label.

This section lets the Secretary set official definitions and standards for food. The goal is honesty and fair dealing for consumers. If a standard will help consumers, the Secretary can create rules for any food. These rules can fix a food's common name. They can set a standard of identity — what a food must contain to use that name. The Secretary can also set a standard of quality. The Secretary can set a standard for how full a container must be. There are limits. The Secretary generally cannot set an identity or quality standard for fresh or dried fruits. The same limit applies to fresh or dried vegetables, and to butter. There is one exception. Standards of identity are allowed for avocados, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, and melons. But those standards can only cover ripeness and the effects of freezing. When setting a container-fill standard, the Secretary must consider natural shrinkage during storage and shipping. The Secretary must also consider the need for packing and protective material. When setting a quality standard for canned fruit or vegetables, the Secretary must account for differences among varieties. When a food's identity standard allows optional ingredients, the Secretary must require those ingredients to be named on the label. This keeps consumers informed.

facts

- Located at 21 U.S.C. § 341, titled "Definitions and standards for food," part of the federal food regulation statutes. - Originally enacted June 25, 1938, ch. 675, § 401, 52 Stat. 1046, as part of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. - Contains 251 words in its body text. - Source credit lists four legislative actions, including amendments in 1954, 1956, and by Pub. L. 103–80 (1993). - Reflects one recorded amendment (amendmentCount: 1) despite multiple historical source-credit entries.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

Whenever in the judgment of the Secretary such action will promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers, he shall promulgate regulations fixing and establishing for any food, under its common or usual name so far as practicable, a reasonable definition and standard of identity, a reasonable standard of quality, or reasonable standards of fill of container. No definition and standard of identity and no standard of quality shall be established for fresh or dried fruits, fresh or dried vegetables, or butter, except that definitions and standards of identity may be established for avocadoes, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, and melons. In prescribing any standard of fill of container, the Secretary shall give due consideration to the natural shrinkage in storage and in transit of fresh natural food and to need for the necessary packing and protective material. In the prescribing of any standard of quality for any canned fruit or canned vegetable, consideration shall be given and due allowance made for the differing characteristics of the several varieties of such fruit or vegetable. In prescribing a definition and standard of identity for any food or class of food in which optional ingredients are permitted, the Secretary shall, for the purpose of promoting honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers, designate the optional ingredients which shall be named on the label. Any definition and standard of identity prescribed by the Secretary for avocadoes, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, or melons shall relate only to maturity and to the effects of freezing.

Source credit: (June 25, 1938, ch. 675, § 401, 52 Stat. 1046; Apr. 15, 1954, ch. 143, § 1, 68 Stat. 54; Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 861, § 1, 70 Stat. 919; Pub. L. 103–80, § 3(h), Aug. 13, 1993, 107 Stat. 776.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1938Enacted · Act of June 25, 1938, ch. 675 · 52 Stat. 1046
1954Amended · Act of Apr. 15, 1954, ch. 143 · 68 Stat. 54
1956Amended · Act of Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 861 · 70 Stat. 919
1993Amended · Pub. L. 103-80 · 107 Stat. 776

The record shows that this section originated as § 401 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, enacted June 25, 1938 (ch. 675, 52 Stat. 1046). The source credit indicates subsequent amendment on three occasions: April 15, 1954 (ch. 143, 68 Stat. 54), August 1, 1956 (ch. 861, 70 Stat. 919), and by Public Law 103-80 in 1993 (107 Stat. 776). These citations establish the section's legislative lineage but do not themselves explain the substance of each change. Historical context. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 is generally understood to have been enacted in response to perceived shortcomings in the earlier Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, including a lack of adequate federal authority over food and drug safety and labeling. The 1938 Act is commonly cited as having expanded federal regulatory authority, including provisions authorizing standards for food identity, quality, and fill of container, with the stated aim of protecting consumers from adulteration, misbranding, and misleading practices in interstate commerce. The specific reasons for the 1954 and 1956 amendments, and for the 1993 amendment made by Public Law 103-80, are not established by the record provided here. The text and source credit do not document the particular legislative concerns that prompted these later changes, such as the treatment of fresh produce or the introduction of avocado, cantaloupe, citrus, and melon standards, and no attempt is made here to supply that missing history.

all 0 arguments · sorted by: best

no arguments yet — make the first case