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

submitted 88 years ago by ch. 675 to r/title-21-FOOD-AND-DRUGS · 456 words · no verdicts yet

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This section applies food and drug law to colored oleomargarine sold in the same state where made. Sellers must package it, label it clearly as oleomargarine or margarine, and list its ingredients. Restaurants must notify customers when they serve it, or shape each serving like a triangle. The section defines "colored" using a specific yellow-tint measurement.

(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.

facts

- Codified at 21 U.S.C. § 347, titled "Intrastate sales of colored oleomargarine." - Contains 456 words across five subsections (a)–(e) covering interstate commerce treatment, labeling/packaging, public eating place sales, labeling exemptions, and color content definitions. - Enacted as part of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (ch. 675) on June 25, 1938, added as § 407 by the Act of March 16, 1950, ch. 61, § 3(c), 64 Stat. 20. - Has a single source-credit reference and no recorded amendments (amendmentCount: 0).

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

(a) Law governing

Colored oleomargarine or colored margarine which is sold in the same State or Territory in which it is produced shall be subject in the same manner and to the same extent to the provisions of this chapter as if it had been introduced in interstate commerce.

(b) Labeling and packaging requirements

No person shall sell, or offer for sale, colored oleomargarine or colored margarine unless—

(1)

such oleomargarine or margarine is packaged,

(2)

the net weight of the contents of any package sold in a retail establishment is one pound or less,

(3)

there appears on the label of the package (A) the word “oleomargarine” or “margarine” in type or lettering at least as large as any other type or lettering on such label, and (B) a full and accurate statement of all the ingredients contained in such oleomargarine or margarine, and

(4)

each part of the contents of the package is contained in a wrapper which bears the word “oleomargarine” or “margarine” in type or lettering not smaller than 20-point type.

The requirements of this subsection shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any of the other requirements of this chapter.

No person shall possess in a form ready for serving colored oleomargarine or colored margarine at a public eating place unless a notice that oleomargarine or margarine is served is displayed prominently and conspicuously in such place and in such manner as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual being served in such eating place or is printed or is otherwise set forth on the menu in type or lettering not smaller than that normally used to designate the serving of other food items. No person shall serve colored oleomargarine or colored margarine at a public eating place, whether or not any charge is made therefor, unless (1) each separate serving bears or is accompanied by labeling identifying it as oleomargarine or margarine, or (2) each separate serving thereof is triangular in shape.

(d) Exemption from labeling requirements

Colored oleomargarine or colored margarine when served with meals at a public eating place shall at the time of such service be exempt from the labeling requirements of section 343 of this title (except paragraphs (a) and (f)) if it complies with the requirements of subsection (b) of this section.

(e) Color content of oleomargarine

For the purpose of this section colored oleomargarine or colored margarine is oleomargarine or margarine having a tint or shade containing more than one and six-tenths degrees of yellow, or of yellow and red collectively, but with an excess of yellow over red, measured in terms of Lovibond tintometer scale or its equivalent.

Source credit: (June 25, 1938, ch. 675, § 407, as added Mar. 16, 1950, ch. 61, § 3(c), 64 Stat. 20.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1938Enacted · Act of June 25, 1938, ch. 675 · 64 Stat. 20

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.

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