21 U.S.C. § 341 : US Code - Section 341: Definitions and standards for food

Search 21 U.S.C. § 341 : US Code - Section 341: Definitions and standards for food

Whenever in the judgment of the Secretary such action will
promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers, he
shall promulgate regulations fixing and establishing for any food,
under its common or usual name so far as practicable, a reasonable
definition and standard of identity, a reasonable standard of
quality, or reasonable standards of fill of container. No
definition and standard of identity and no standard of quality
shall be established for fresh or dried fruits, fresh or dried
vegetables, or butter, except that definitions and standards of
identity may be established for avocadoes, cantaloupes, citrus
fruits, and melons. In prescribing any standard of fill of
container, the Secretary shall give due consideration to the
natural shrinkage in storage and in transit of fresh natural food
and to need for the necessary packing and protective material. In
the prescribing of any standard of quality for any canned fruit or
canned vegetable, consideration shall be given and due allowance
made for the differing characteristics of the several varieties of
such fruit or vegetable. In prescribing a definition and standard
of identity for any food or class of food in which optional
ingredients are permitted, the Secretary shall, for the purpose of
promoting honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers,
designate the optional ingredients which shall be named on the
label. Any definition and standard of identity prescribed by the
Secretary for avocadoes, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, or melons
shall relate only to maturity and to the effects of freezing.