Rules of Product Packaging

In the United States, the primary entity with oversight of product packaging is the United States Department of Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This entity provides regulations for products except for meat, chicken, turkey and other poultry products, and some types of egg products. Consequently, if you are seeking to assess what packaging rules a certain product must contain, the FDA is the best place to find out.

Relevant Law

The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act applies to prepared food items, drugs and cosmetic items. The Act is broad and includes provision as to when an item must contain a label, the contents of the label and warnings. In addition, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act plays a role in the regulation of food, drug and cosmetic product packaging. This Act seeks to provide protections against misleading information on packaging and therefore protect the consumer when making a determination as to whether to use a certain product.

Nutrition Labeling

Under the FDA's regulations, prepared food items, which include almost every food product except for raw fruits and vegetables, must contain a nutrition label. The label must include the serving size, number of servings, calories, fat and cholesterol. Recently, the FDA regulations require that trans fat content is listed among the other nutrition label items. Furthermore, the food item must include any allergen warnings. For instance, if the item is made with nuts, the label must indicate this fact. Furthermore, if an item is made in a factory that produces allergen products or shares machinery for other products containing allergens, this information must be contained on the label.

Drug Labeling

With respect to drug labeling, the FDA plays a critical role by mandating what must be included on the package and inside of the packaging of the medication. The FDA requires the packaging to include directions as to how to take the medication, contraindications, side effects, adverse reactions and for prescription drugs, a patient insert. Furthermore, in the patient insert, the FDA mandates that all of the side effects and reactions be listed, broken down by percentages of the amount of occurrences in previous drug trials.

Cosmetic Labeling

The FDA also controls what may or may not be included on cosmetic packaging. The FDA sets standards expected to be followed by the industry; failure to do so will result in possible fines, seizure of goods, recalls and/or criminal consequences. Ultimately, the FDA laws attempt to protect consumers, notify consumers of the contents of the cosmetic and avoid deception. Specifically, the FDA prohibits the mislabeling and misbranding of cosmetics. According to the FDA's website, providing a false or misleading statement, failing to provide required information or violating the requirements of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 constitute mislabeling.

References

• United States Food and Drug Administration

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