Fair Packaging and Labeling Act

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The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act is a US law that applies to labels on many consumer products. It requires the label to state:

  • The identity of the product;
  • The name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and
  • The net quantity of contents.

The contents statement must include both metric and U.S. customary units.

Passed under Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, the law first took effect on July 1, 1967. The metric labeling requirement was added in 1992 and took effect on February 14, 1994. The law is codified as 15 U.S.C. ยง 1451-1461.

Currently, there is a strong effort underway by industry to amend the FPLA to allow manufacturers to use metric-only labeling.[1] In light of a January 1, 2010 European Union deadline that will no longer allow dual-unit product labeling,[2] an amendment to the FPLA to allow metric-only labeling would allow manufacturers, both importers and exporters, to avoid the significant costs associated with the potential necessity of producing two distinct package types.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Forum on Permissible Metric-Only Labeling. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
  2. ^ COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 20 December 1979 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement and on the repeal of Directive 71/354/EEC (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-03-03.

[edit] External links