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Title 21 CFR reference

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United States • Title 21 CFR • Part 501

Part 501PART 501—ANIMAL FOOD LABELING

Part 501 of Title 21 CFR outlines the labeling requirements for animal food in package form, focusing on the principal display panel and information panel. It specifies the definition and placement of these panels, the required information, and exemptions for certain package sizes and types. Key elements include the statement of identity, ingredient listing, and manufacturer/distributor information.

What this part covers

  • Defines the 'principal display panel' as the most likely area of a package to be displayed for retail sale.
  • Specifies the 'information panel' as the area immediately to the right of the principal display panel, with exceptions for unusable space.
  • Mandates that all required information (identity, ingredients, manufacturer/distributor) appears prominently and conspicuously on the principal display panel or information panel.
  • Details the requirements for the statement of identity, including using the common or usual name or an appropriately descriptive term.
  • Outlines the ingredient declaration, requiring listing in descending order of predominance by weight using common or usual names, with specific provisions for collective names and reconstituted ingredients.
  • Requires the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor to be clearly stated on the label.
  • Provides exemptions from type size requirements for packages with limited labeling area, provided certain conditions are met, such as including a full ingredient list.
  • Addresses imitation foods, stating they must be labeled as such unless they are not nutritionally inferior and have an appropriate common or usual name.

Sections in Part 501

§ 501.1

Principal display panel of package form animal food.

principal display panelarea of the principal display panelThe term 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 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…

§ 501.100

Animal food; exemptions from labeling.

(a) The following foods are exempt from compliance with the requirements of section 403(i)(2) of the act (requiring a declaration on the label of the common or usual name of each ingredient when the food is fabricated from two or more ingredients). (1) An assortment of different items of food, when variations in the items that make up different packages packed from such assortment normally occur in good packing practice and when such variations result in variations in the ingredients in different packages, with respect to any ingredient that is not common to all packages. Such exemption, however, shall be on the condition that the label shall bear, in conjunction with the names of such ingredients as are common to all packages, a statement (in terms that are as informative as practicable and that are not misleading) indicating by name other ingredients which may be present. (2) A food having been received in bulk containers at a retail establishment, if displayed to the purchaser with either (i) the labeling of the bulk container plainly in view or (ii) a counter card, sign, or other appropriate device bearing prominently and conspicuously the information required to be stated…

§ 501.103

Petitions requesting exemptions from or special requirements for label declaration of ingredients.

The Commissioner of Food and Drugs, either on his own initiative or on behalf of any interested person who has submitted a petition pursuant to part 10 of this chapter may issue a proposal to amend § 501.4 to specify the manner in which an ingredient(s) shall be declared, i.e., by specific or class name, or § 501.100 to exempt an ingredient(s) from the requirements for label declaration. [41 FR 38619, Sept. 10, 1976, as amended at 42 FR 15675, Mar. 22, 1977]

§ 501.105

Declaration of net quantity of contents when exempt.

(a) The principal display panel of a food in package form shall bear a declaration of the net quantity of contents. This shall be expressed in the terms of weight, measure, numerical count, or a combination of numerical count and weight or measure. The statement shall be in terms of fluid measure if the food is liquid, or in terms of weight if the food is solid, semisolid, or viscous, or a mixture of solid and liquid; except that such statement may be in terms of dry measure if the food is a fresh fruit, fresh vegetable, or other dry commodity that is customarily sold by dry measure. If there is a firmly established general consumer usage and trade custom of declaring the contents of a liquid by weight, or a solid, semisolid, or viscous product by fluid measure, it may be used. Whenever the Commissioner determines that an existing practice of declaring net quantity of contents by weight, measure, numerical count, or a combination in the case of a specific packaged food does not facilitate value comparisons by consumers and offers opportunity for consumer confusion, he will by regulation designate the appropriate term or terms to be used for such commodity. (b)(1) Statements of…

§ 501.110

Animal feed labeling; collective names for feed ingredients.

(a) An animal feed shall be exempt from the requirements of section 403(i)(2) of the act with respect to its label bearing the common or usual names of the animal feed ingredients listed in paragraph (b) of this section under the following prescribed conditions: (1) The animal feed is intended solely for livestock and poultry. (2) The label of the animal feed bears the collective name(s) prescribed in paragraph (b) of this section in lieu of the corresponding common or usual names of the individual feed ingredients contained therein. (3) The label of the animal feed otherwise conforms to the requirements of section 403(i)(2) of the act. (4) The ingredients of any feed listed in paragraph (b) of this section neither contain nor are food additives as defined in section 201(s) of the act unless provided for by and in conformity with applicable regulations established pursuant to section 409 of the act. (b) Each collective name referred to in this paragraph may be used for the purpose of labeling where one or more of the ingredients listed for that collective name are present. The animal feed ingredients listed under each of the collective names are the products defined by the…

§ 501.15

Animal food; prominence of required statements.

(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…

§ 501.17

Animal food labeling warning statements.

Self-pressurized containers.(a) (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. Self-pressurized containers with halocarbon or hydrocarbon propellants.(b) (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…

§ 501.18

Misbranding of animal food.

(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…

§ 501.2

Information panel of package for animal food.

information panel(a) The term 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.…

§ 501.22

Animal foods; labeling of spices, flavorings, colorings, and chemical preservatives.

artificial flavorartificial flavoring(a)(1) The term or means any substance, the function of which is to impart flavor, which is not derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof. Artificial flavor includes the substances listed in §§ 172.515(b) and 582.60 of this chapter except where these are derived from natural sources. spice(2) The term means any aromatic vegetable substance in the whole, broken, or ground form, except for those substances which have been traditionally regarded as foods, such as onions, garlic and celery; whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutritional; that is true to name; and from which no portion of any volatile oil or other flavoring principle has been removed. Spices include the spices listed in subpart A of part 582 of this chapter, such as the following: natural flavornatural flavoring(3) The term or means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains…

§ 501.3

Identity labeling of animal food in package form.

(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…

§ 501.4

Animal food; designation of ingredients.

(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…

§ 501.5

Animal food; name and place of business of manufacturer, packer, or distributor.

(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…

§ 501.8

Labeling of animal food with number of servings.

(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. serving(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 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…

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