15 U.S.C. § 1454 : US Code - Section 1454: Rules and regulations

Search 15 U.S.C. § 1454 : US Code - Section 1454: Rules and regulations

(a) Promulgating authority
The authority to promulgate regulations under this chapter is
vested in (A) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred
to hereinafter as the "Secretary") with respect to any consumer
commodity which is a food, drug, device, or cosmetic, as each such
term is defined by section 321 of title 21; and (B) the Federal
Trade Commission (referred to hereinafter as the "Commission") with
respect to any other consumer commodity.
(b) Exemption of commodities from regulations
If the promulgating authority specified in this section finds
that, because of the nature, form, or quantity of a particular
consumer commodity, or for other good and sufficient reasons, full
compliance with all the requirements otherwise applicable under
section 1453 of this title is impracticable or is not necessary for
the adequate protection of consumers, the Secretary or the
Commission (whichever the case may be) shall promulgate regulations
exempting such commodity from those requirements to the extent and
under such conditions as the promulgating authority determines to
be consistent with section 1451 of this title.
(c) Scope of additional regulations
Whenever the promulgating authority determines that regulations
containing prohibitions or requirements other than those prescribed
by section 1453 of this title are necessary to prevent the
deception of consumers or to facilitate value comparisons as to any
consumer commodity, such authority shall promulgate with respect to
that commodity regulations effective to -
(1) establish and define standards for characterization of the
size of a package enclosing any consumer commodity, which may be
used to supplement the label statement of net quantity of
contents of packages containing such commodity, but this
paragraph shall not be construed as authorizing any limitation on
the size, shape, weight or mass, dimensions, or number of
packages which may be used to enclose any commodity;
(2) regulate the placement upon any package containing any
commodity, or upon any label affixed to such commodity, of any
printed matter stating or representing by implication that such
commodity is offered for retail sale at a price lower than the
ordinary and customary retail sale price or that a retail sale
price advantage is accorded to purchasers thereof by reason of
the size of that package or the quantity of its contents;
(3) require that the label on each package of a consumer
commodity (other than one which is a food within the meaning of
section 321(f) of title 21) bear (A) the common or usual name of
such consumer commodity, if any, and (B) in case such consumer
commodity consists of two or more ingredients, the common or
usual name of each such ingredient listed in order of decreasing
predominance, but nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to
require that any trade secret be divulged; or
(4) prevent the nonfunctional-slack-fill of packages containing
consumer commodities.
For purposes of paragraph (4) of this subsection, a package shall
be deemed to be nonfunctionally slack-filled if it is filled to
substantially less than its capacity for reasons other than (A)
protection of the contents of such package or (B) the requirements
of machines used for enclosing the contents in such package.
(d) Development by manufacturers, packers, and distributors of
voluntary product standards
Whenever the Secretary of Commerce determines that there is undue
proliferation of the weights or masses, measures, or quantities in
which any consumer commodity or reasonably comparable consumer
commodities are being distributed in packages for sale at retail
and such undue proliferation impairs the reasonable ability of
consumers to make value comparisons with respect to such consumer
commodity or commodities, he shall request manufacturers, packers,
and distributors of the commodity or commodities to participate in
the development of a voluntary product standard for such commodity
or commodities under the procedures for the development of
voluntary products standards established by the Secretary pursuant
to section 272 of this title. Such procedures shall provide
adequate manufacturer, packer, distributor, and consumer
representation.
(e) Report and recommendations to Congress upon industry failure to
develop or abide by voluntary product standards
If (1) after one year after the date on which the Secretary of
Commerce first makes the request of manufacturers, packers, and
distributors to participate in the development of a voluntary
product standard as provided in subsection (d) of this section, he
determines that such a standard will not be published pursuant to
the provisions of such subsection (d), or (2) if such a standard is
published and the Secretary of Commerce determines that it has not
been observed, he shall promptly report such determination to the
Congress with a statement of the efforts that have been made under
the voluntary standards program and his recommendation as to
whether Congress should enact legislation providing regulatory
authority to deal with the situation in question.