21 U.S.C. § 347 — Intrastate sales of colored oleomargarine

(a) Colored oleomargarine or margarine that's sold in the same state or territory where it was made is regulated exactly as if it had been shipped across state lines — the full federal food law applies even to purely local sales. (b) Labeling and packaging rules. No one may sell or offer to sell colored oleomargarine or margarine unless it meets all of these conditions: it's packaged, not sold loose (1); any retail package weighs one pound or less (2); the label carries the word "oleomargarine" or "margarine" in lettering at least as large as any other lettering on the label, along with a full and accurate list of every ingredient (3); and each individually wrapped portion inside the package also carries the word "oleomargarine" or "margarine," in type no smaller than 20-point (4). These requirements are on top of every other food-labeling requirement, not a substitute for them. (c) Rules for restaurants and other public eating places. No one may keep colored oleomargarine or margarine ready to serve at a public eating place unless a notice saying "oleomargarine" or "margarine" is served is posted clearly and prominently enough that an ordinary customer would notice and understand it — or the same notice appears on the menu in lettering as large as what's used for other food items. And no one may actually serve colored oleomargarine or margarine there, whether or not it's charged for, unless each individual serving is labeled as oleomargarine or margarine, or each serving is shaped as a triangle. (d) If colored oleomargarine or margarine is served with a meal at a public eating place and follows the packaging and notice rules in (b), it's exempt at that moment from the general food-labeling requirements elsewhere in this law (except two specific parts of them). (e) For this section, oleomargarine or margarine counts as "colored" if its tint contains more than 1.6 degrees of yellow — or of yellow and red combined, with more yellow than red — measured on the Lovibond tintometer color scale or an equivalent standard.

The record. According to the source credit, this section was added to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (June 25, 1938, ch. 675) by a later enactment—chapter 61, section 3(c), approved March 16, 1950 (64 Stat. 20)—rather than as part of the original 1938 statute. The credit lists no subsequent amendments, indicating that the text has remained as enacted in 1950. Historical context. The 1938 Act itself is generally understood as a comprehensive overhaul of federal food, drug, and cosmetic regulation, replacing the earlier 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act with stronger safety and labeling standards. The specific 1950 addition codified here addressed oleomargarine, a butter substitute that had long been subject to special federal and state restrictions, particularly regarding artificial coloring meant to resemble butter. Mid-twentieth-century margarine legislation is commonly associated with efforts to protect dairy interests and to ensure that consumers could readily distinguish colored margarine from butter, through packaging, labeling, and disclosure requirements in retail and food-service settings. Beyond this general background, the record does not establish the specific legislative motivations, debates, or interests that led Congress to enact this particular provision in 1950. Any more detailed account of the drafting history, sponsors, or specific policy disputes behind this section would go beyond what the supplied material documents, and no such details should be inferred from it.