The term principal display panel as it applies to food in package form and as used in this part, means the part of a label that is most likely to be displayed, presented, shown, or examined under customary conditions of display for retail sale. The principal display panel shall be large enough to accommodate all the mandatory label information required to be placed thereon by this part with clarity and conspicuousness and without obscuring design, vignettes, or crowding. Where packages bear alternate principal display panels, information required to be placed on the principal display panel shall be duplicated on each principal display panel. For the purpose of obtaining uniform type size in declaring the quantity of contents for all packages of substantially the same size, the term area of the principal display panel means the area of the side or surface that bears the principal display panel, which area shall be:

(a) In the case of a rectangular package where one entire side properly can be considered to be the principal display panel side, the product of the height times the width of that side;

(b) In the case of a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical container, 40 percent of the product of the height of the container times the circumference;

(c) In the case of any otherwise shaped container, 40 percent of the total surface of the container: Provided, however, That where such container presents an obvious principal display panel such as the top of a triangular or circular package, the area shall consist of the entire top surface. In determining the area of the principal display panel, exclude tops, bottoms, flanges at tops and bottoms of cans, and shoulders and necks of bottles or jars. In the case of cylindrical or nearly cylindrical containers, information required by this part to appear on the principal display panel shall appear within that 40 percent of the circumference which is most likely to be displayed, presented, shown, or examined under customary conditions of display for retail sale.

(a) The term information panel as it applies to packaged food means that part of the label immediately contiguous and to the right of the principal display panel as observed by an individual facing the principal display panel with the following exceptions:

(1) If the part of the label immediately contiguous and to the right of the principal display panel is too small to accommodate the necessary information or is otherwise unusable label space, e.g., folded flaps or can ends, the panel immediately contiguous and to the right of this part of the label may be used.

(2) If the package has one or more alternate principal display panels, the information panel is immediately contiguous and to the right of any principal display panel.

(3) If the top of the container is the principal display panel and the package has no alternate principal display panel, the information panel is any panel adjacent to the principal display panel.

(b) All information required to appear on the label of any package of food pursuant to §§ 501.4, 501.5, 501.8 and 501.17 shall appear either on the principal display panel or on the information panel, unless otherwise specified by regulations in this chapter.

(c) All information appearing on the principal display panel or the information panel pursuant to this section shall appear prominently and conspicuously, but in no case may the letters and/or numbers be less than 1/16 inch in height unless an exemption pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section is established. The requirements for conspicuousness and legibility shall include the specifications of §§ 501.15 and 501.105(h) (1) and (2).

(1) Packaged foods are exempt from the type size requirements of this paragraph: Provided, That:

(i) The package is designed such that it has a surface area that can bear an information panel and/or an alternate principal display panel.

(ii) The area of surface available for labeling on the principal display panel of the package as this term is defined in § 501.1 is less than 10 square inches.

(iii) The label information includes a full list of ingredients in accordance with regulations in this part.

(iv) The information required by paragraph (b) of this section appears on the principal display panel or information panel label in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph (c) except that the type size is not less than 3/64 inch in height.

(2) Packaged foods are exempt from the type size requirements of this paragraph: Provided, That:

(i) The package is designed such that it has a single obvious principal display panel as this term is defined in § 501.1 and has no other available surface area for an information panel or alternate principal display panel.

(ii) The area of surface available for labeling on the principal display panel of the package as this term is defined in § 501.1 is less than 12 square inches and bears all labeling appearing on the package.

(iii) The label information includes a full list of ingredients in accordance with regulations in this part.

(iv) The information required by paragraph (b) of this section appears on the single, obvious principal display panel in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph (c) except that the type size is not less than 1/32 inch in height.

(3) Packaged foods are exempt from the type size requirements of this paragraph: Provided, That:

(i) The package is designed such that it has a total surface area available to bear labeling of less than 12 square inches.

(ii) The label information includes a full list of ingredients in accordance with regulations in this part.

(iii) The information required by paragraph (b) of this section appears on the principal display panel or information panel label in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph (c) except that the type size is not less than 1/32 inch in height.

(d) All information required to appear on the principal display panel or on the information panel pursuant to this section shall appear on the same panel unless there is insufficient space. In determining the sufficiency of the available space, any vignettes, design, and other nonmandatory label information shall not be considered. If there is insufficient space for all of this information to appear on a single panel, it may be divided between these two panels except that the information required pursuant to any given section or part shall all appear on the same panel. A food whose label is required to bear the ingredient statement on the principal display panel may bear all other information specified in paragraph (b) of this section on the information panel.

(e) All information appearing on the information panel pursuant to this section shall appear in one place without other intervening material.

(f) If the label of any package of food is too small to accommodate all of the information required by §§ 501.4, 501.5, 501.8, and 501.17, the Commissioner may establish by regulation an acceptable alternative method of disseminating such information to the public, e.g., a type size smaller than one-sixteenth inch in height, or labeling attached to or inserted in the package or available at the point of purchase. A petition requesting such a regulation, as an amendment to this paragraph shall be submitted pursuant to part 10 of this chapter.

[41 span 38619, Sept. 10, 1976, as amended at 42 span 4716, Jan. 25, 1977; 42 span 15675, Mar. 22, 1977]

(a) The principal display panel of a food in package form shall bear as one of its principal features a statement of the identity of the commodity.

(b) Such statement of identity shall be in terms of:

(1) The name now or hereafter specified in or required by any applicable Federal law or regulation; or, in the absence thereof,

(2) The common or usual name of the food; or, in the absence thereof,

(3) An appropriately descriptive term, or when the nature of the food is obvious, a fanciful name commonly used by the public for such food.

(c) Where a food is marketed in various optional forms (whole, slices, diced, etc.), the particular form shall be considered to be a necessary part of the statement of identity and shall be declared in letters of a type size bearing a reasonable relation to the size of the letters forming the other components of the statement of identity; except that if the optional form is visible through the container or is depicted by an appropriate vignette, the particular form need not be included in the statement. This specification does not affect the required declarations of identity under definitions and standards for foods promulgated pursuant to section 401 of the act.

(d) This statement of identity shall be presented in bold type on the principal display panel, shall be in a size reasonably related to the most prominent printed matter on such panel, and shall be in lines generally parallel to the base on which the package rests as it is designed to be displayed.

(e) Under the provisions of section 403(c) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, a food shall be deemed to be misbranded if it is an imitation of another food unless its label bears, in type of uniform size and prominence, the word imitation and, immediately thereafter, the name of the food imitated.

(1) A food shall be deemed to be an imitation and thus subject to the requirements of section 403(c) of the act if it is a substitute for and resembles another food but is nutritionally inferior to that food.

(2) A food that is a substitute for and resembles another food shall not be deemed to be an imitation provided it meets each of the following requirements:

(i) It is not nutritionally inferior to the food for which it substitutes and which it resembles.

(ii) Its label bears a common or usual name that complies with the provisions of § 502.5 of this chapter and that is not false or misleading, or in the absence of an existing common or usual name, an appropriately descriptive term that is not false or misleading. The label may, in addition, bear a fanciful name which is not false or misleading.

(3) A food for which a common or usual name is established by regulation (e.g., in a standard of identity pursuant to section 401 of the act, in a common or usual name regulation and may, in addition, bear a fanciful name which is not false or misleading, and established pursuant to part 502 of this chapter), and which complies with all of the applicable requirements of such regulation(s), shall not be deemed to be an imitation.

(4) Nutritional inferiority includes:

(i) Any reduction in the content of an essential nutrient that is present in a measurable amount.

(ii) If the Commissioner concludes that a food is a substitute for and resembles another food but is inferior to the food imitated for reasons other than those set forth in this paragraph, he may propose appropriate revisions to this regulation or he may propose a separate regulation governing the particular food.

(f) A label may be required to bear the percentage(s) of a characterizing ingredient(s) or information concerning the presence or absence of an ingredient(s) or the need to add an ingredient(s) as part of the common or usual name of the food pursuant to part 502 of this chapter.

[41 FR 38619, Sept. 10, 1976, as amended at 42 FR 14091, Mar. 15, 1977; 54 FR 18279, Apr. 28, 1989]

(a) Ingredients required to be declared on the label of a food, including foods that comply with standards of identity that require labeling in compliance with this part 501, except those exempted by § 501.100, shall be listed by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight on either the principal display panel or the information panel in accordance with the provisions of § 501.2.

(b) The name of an ingredient shall be a specific name and not a collective (generic) name, except that:

(1) Spices, flavorings, colorings and chemical preservatives shall be declared according to the provisions of § 501.22.

(2) An ingredient which itself contains two or more ingredients and which has an established common or usual name, conforms to a standard established pursuant to the Meat Inspection or Poultry Products Inspection Acts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or conforms to a definition and standard of identity established pursuant to section 401 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, shall be designated in the statement of ingredients on the label of such food by either of the following alternatives:

(i) By declaring the established common or usual name of the ingredient followed by a parenthetical listing of all ingredients contained therein in descending order of predominance except that, if the ingredient is a food subject to a definition and standard of identity established in this subchapter E, only the ingredients required to be declared by the definition and standard of identity need be listed; or

(ii) By incorporating into the statement of ingredients in descending order of predominance in the finished food, the common or usual name of every component of the ingredient without listing the ingredient itself.

(3) Skim milk, concentrated skim milk, reconstituted skim milk, and nonfat dry milk may be declared as skim milk or nonfat milk.

(4) Milk, concentrated milk, reconstituted milk, and dry whole milk may be declared as milk.

(5) Bacterial cultures may be declared by the word cultured followed by the name of the substrate, e.g., made from cultured skim milk or cultured buttermilk.

(6) Sweetcream buttermilk, concentrated sweetcream buttermilk, reconstituted sweetcream buttermilk, and dried sweetcream buttermilk may be declared as buttermilk.

(7) Whey, concentrated whey, reconstituted whey, and dried whey may be declared as whey.

(8) Cream, reconstituted cream, dried cream, and plastic cream (sometimes known as concentrated milkfat) may be declared as cream.

(9) Butteroil and anhydrous butterfat may be declared as butterfat.

(10) Dried whole eggs, frozen whole eggs, and liquid whole eggs may be declared as eggs.

(11) Dried egg whites, frozen egg whites, and liquid egg whites may be declared as egg whites.

(12) Dried egg yolks, frozen egg yolks, and liquid egg yolks may be declared as egg yolks.

(13) A livestock or poultry feed may be declared by a collective name listed in § 501.110 if it is an animal feed within the meaning of section 201(w) of the act and meets the requirements for the use of a collective name as prescribed in § 501.110 for certain feed ingredients.

(14) [Reserved]

(15) When all the ingredients of a wheat flour are declared in an ingredient statement, the principal ingredient of the flour shall be declared by the name(s) specified in §§ 137.105, 137.200, 137.220, 137.225 of this chapter, i.e., the first ingredient designated in the ingredient list of flour, or bromated flour, or enriched flour, or self-rising flour is flour, white flour, wheat flour, or plain flour; the first ingredient designated in the ingredient list of durum flour is durum flour; the first ingredient designated in the ingredient list of whole wheat flour, or bromated whole wheat flour is whole wheat flour, graham flour, or entire wheat flour; and the first ingredient designated in the ingredient list of whole durum wheat flour is whole durum wheat flour.

(c) When water is added to reconstitute, completely or partially, an ingredient permitted by paragraph (b) of this section to be declared by a class name, the position of the ingredient class name in the ingredient statement shall be determined by the weight of the unreconstituted ingredient plus the weight of the quantity of water added to reconstitute that ingredient, up to the amount of water needed to reconstitute the ingredient to single strength. Any water added in excess of the amount of water needed to reconstitute the ingredient to single strength shall be declared as water in the ingredient statement.

[41 FR 38619, Sept. 10, 1976, as amended at 42 FR 14091, Mar. 15, 1977; 60 FR 38480, July 27, 1995]

(a) The label of a food in packaged form shall specify conspicuously the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.

(b) The requirement for declaration of the name of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a corporation, only by the actual corporate name, which may be preceded or followed by the name of the particular division of the corporation. In the case of an individual, partnership, or association, the name under which the business is conducted shall be used.

(c) Where the food is not manufactured by the person whose name appears on the label, the name shall be qualified by a phrase that reveals the connection such person has with such food; such as “Manufactured for ______,” “Distributed by ______,” or any other wording that expresses the facts.

(d) The statement of the place of business shall include the street address, city, state, and ZIP Code; however, the street address may be omitted if it is shown in a current city directory or telephone directory. The requirement for inclusion of the ZIP Code shall apply only to consumer commodity labels developed or revised after the effective date of this section. In the case of nonconsumer packages, the ZIP Code shall appear either on the label or the labeling (including invoice).

(e) If a person manufactures, packs, or distributes a food at a place other than his principal place of business, the label may state the principal place of business in lieu of the actual place where such food was manufactured or packed or is to be distributed, unless such statement would be misleading.

(a) The label of any package of a food which bears a representation as to the number of servings contained in such package shall bear in immediate conjunction with such statement, and in the same size type as is used for such statement, a statement of the net quantity (in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count) of each such serving; however, such statement may be expressed in terms that differ from the terms used in the required statement of net quantity of contents (for example, cupfuls, tablespoonfuls, etc.) when such differing term is common to cookery and describes a constant quantity. Such statement may not be misleading in any particular. A statement of the number of units in a package is not in itself a statement of the number of servings.

(b) If there exists a voluntary product standard promulgated pursuant to the procedures found in 15 CFR part 10 by the Department of Commerce, quantitatively defining the meaning of the term serving with respect to a particular food, then any label representation as to the number of servings in such packaged food shall correspond with such quantitative definition. (Copies of published standards are available upon request from the National Bureau of Standards, Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20234.)

(a) A word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of the act to appear on the label may lack that prominence and conspicuousness required by section 403(f) of the act by reason (among other reasons) of:

(1) The failure of such word, statement, or information to appear on the part or panel of the label which is presented or displayed under customary conditions of purchase;

(2) The failure of such word, statement, or information to appear on two or more parts or panels of the label, each of which has sufficient space therefor, and each of which is so designed as to render it likely to be, under customary conditions of purchase, the part or panel displayed;

(3) The failure of the label to extend over the area of the container or package available for such extension, so as to provide sufficient label space for the prominent placing of such word, statement, or information;

(4) Insufficiency of label space (for the prominent placing of such word, statement, or information) resulting from the use of label space for any word, statement, design, or device which is not required by or under authority of the act to appear on the label;

(5) Insufficiency of label space (for the prominent placing of such word, statement, or information) resulting from the use of label space to give materially greater conspicuousness to any other word, statement, or information, or to any design or device; or

(6) Smallness or style of type in which such word, statement, or information appears, insufficient background contrast, obscuring designs or vignettes, or crowding with other written, printed, or graphic matter.

(b) No exemption depending on insufficiency of label space, as prescribed in regulations promulgated under section 403(e) or (i) of the act, shall apply if such insufficiency is caused by:

(1) The use of label space for any word, statement, design, or device which is not required by or under authority of the act to appear on the label;

(2) The use of label space to give greater conspicuousness to any word, statement, or other information that is required by section 403(f) of the act; or

(3) The use of label space for any representation in a foreign language.

(c)(1) All words, statements, and other information required by or under authority of the act to appear on the label or labeling shall appear thereon in the English language: Provided, however, That in the case of articles distributed solely in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or in a territory where the predominant language is one other than English, the predominant language may be substituted for English.

(2) If the label contains any representation in a foreign language, all words, statements, and other information required by or under authority of the act to appear on the label shall appear thereon in the foreign language.

(3) If any article of labeling (other than a label) contains any representation in a foreign language, all words, statements, and other information required by or under authority of the act to appear on the label or labeling shall appear on such article of labeling.

(a) Self-pressurized containers. (1) The label of a food packaged in a self-pressurized container and intended to be expelled from the package under pressure shall bear the following warning:

Warning Avoid spraying in eyes. Contents under pressure. Do not puncture or incinerate. Do not store at temperature above 120 °F. Keep out of reach of children.

(2) In the case of products intended for use by children, the phrase “except under adult supervision” may be added at the end of the last sentence in the warning required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(3) In the case of products packaged in glass containers, the word “break” may be substituted for the word “puncture” in the warning required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(4) The words “Avoid spraying in eyes” may be deleted from the warning required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section in the case of a product not expelled as a spray.

(b) Self-pressurized containers with halocarbon or hydrocarbon propellants. (1) In addition to the warning required by paragraph (a) of this section, the label of a food packaged in a self-pressurized container in which the propellant consists in whole or in part of a halocarbon or a hydrocarbon shall bear the following warning:

Warning Use only as directed. Intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating and inhaling the contents can be harmful or fatal.

(2) The warning required by paragraph (b)(1) of this section is not required for the following products:

(i) Products expelled in the form of a foam or cream, which contain less than 10 percent propellant in the container.

(ii) Products in a container with a physical barrier that prevents escape of the propellant at the time of use.

(iii) Products of a net quantity of contents of less than 2 ozs that are designed to release a measured amount of product with each valve actuation.

(iv) Products of a net quantity of contents of less than 1/2 oz.

(c) Animal food containing or manufactured with a chlorofluorocarbon or other ozone-depleting substance. Labeling requirements for animal foods that contain or are manufactured with a chlorofluorocarbon or other ozone-depleting substance designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are set forth in 40 Cspan part 82.

[41 span 38619, Sept. 10, 1976, as amended at 42 span 22033, Apr. 29, 1977; 61 span 20101, May 3, 1996]

(a) Among representations in the labeling of a food which render such food misbranded is a false or misleading representation with respect to another food or a drug, device, or cosmetic.

(b) The labeling of a food which contains two or more ingredients may be misleading by reason (among other reasons) of the designation of such food in such labeling by a name which includes or suggests the name of one or more but not all such ingredients, even though the names of all such ingredients are stated elsewhere in the labeling.

(c) Among representations in the labeling of a food which render such food misbranded is any representation that expresses or implies a geographical origin of the food or any ingredient of the food except when such representation is either:

(1) A truthful representation of geographical origin.

(2) A trademark or trade name provided that as applied to the article in question its use is not deceptively misdescriptive. A trademark or trade name comprised in whole or in part of geographical words shall not be considered deceptively misdescriptive if it:

(i) Has been so long and exclusively used by a manufacturer or distributor that it is generally understood by the consumer to mean the product of a particular manufacturer or distributor; or

(ii) Is so arbitrary or fanciful that it is not generally understood by the consumer to suggest geographic origin.

(3) A part of the name required by applicable Federal law or regulation.

(4) A name whose market significance is generally understood by the consumer to connote a particular class, kind, type, or style of food rather than to indicate geographical origin.