SECTION 35:37-11-114. Labels; required features

(a)   Any word, statement, or other information required by this part to appear on the label must be prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness (as compared with words, statements, designs, or devices, in the labeling) and in terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use. In order to meet this requirement, information must appear on the principal display panel except as otherwise permitted in this part.

(b)   Labels of all products shall show the following information on the principal display panel (except as otherwise permitted in this part), in accordance with the requirements of this Part.

(1)   The name of the product, which in the case of a product that purports to be or is represented as a product for which a definition and standard of identity or composition is prescribed, shall be the name of the food specified in the standard, and in the case of any other product shall be the common or usual name of the food, if any, and if there is none, a truthful descriptive designation, as prescribed in Subsection (d) of this Section;

(2)   If the product is fabricated from two or more ingredients, the word "ingredients" followed by a list of the ingredients as prescribed in Subsection (e) of this Section;

(3)   The name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor for whom the product is prepared, as prescribed in Subsection (f) of this Section;

(4)   An accurate statement of the net quantity of contents, as prescribed in Subsection (g) of this Section;

(5)   An official inspection legend and, except as provided in Subsection (h) of this Section, the number of the official establishment, in the form required by Part 23 of this Subchapter;

(6)   Any other information necessary for the safe handling and storage of the product as required by the rules in this Part.

(c)   The principal display panel shall be the part of a label that is most likely to be displayed, presented, shown, or examined under customary conditions of display for sale. 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. The principal display panel shall be large enough to accommodate all the mandatory label information required to be placed thereon with clarity and conspicuousness and without obscuring of the information by designs or vignettes or crowding. 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. The principal display panel shall be:

(1)   in the case of a rectangular package, one entire side, the area of which is at least the product of the height times the width of that side.

(2)   in the case of a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical container:

(A)   An area that is 40 percent of the product of the height of the container times the circumference of the container, or

(B)   an area of at least one third of the product of the height times the circumference of the container; if immediately to the right or left of the area, there is an area reserved for information prescribed in Subsection (b), Paragraphs (2),(3), and (5) of this Section, equal to not more than 20 percent of the circumference.

(3)   in the case of a container of any other shape, 40 percent of the total surface of the container.

(d)   Any descriptive designation used as a product name for a product that has no common or usual name shall clearly and completely identify the product. Product that has been prepared by salting, smoking, drying, cooking, chopping, or other means shall be described on the label unless the name of the product implies, or the manner of packaging shows, that the product was subjected to the preparation. The unqualified terms "meat," "meat byproduct," "meat food product," and terms common to the meat industry but not common to consumers such as "picnic," "butt", "cala," "square," loaf," "spread, "delight," "roll," "plate," "luncheon," and "daisy" shall not be used as names of a product unless accompanied with terms descriptive of the product or with a list of ingredients, as deemed necessary in any specific case by the Director in order to assure that the label will net be false or misleading.

(e)   The list of ingredients shall show the common or usual names of the ingredients arranged in their descending order of predominance, except as otherwise provided in this Subsection.

(1)   The terms "flavorings" may be used to designate natural spices, essential oils, oleoresins and other natural spice extractives, and the term "spices" may be used to designate natural spices, without naming each.

(2)   The term "corn syrup" may be used to designate either corn syrup or corn syrup solids.

(3)   When a product is coated with fat, gelatin, or other approved substance and a specific declaration of the coating appears contiguous to the name of a product, the ingredient statement need not make reference to the ingredients of the coating.

(4)   On containers of frozen dinners, entrees, and similarly packaged consumer sized products in cartons, the ingredient statement may be placed on the front riser panel: Provided, that the words "see ingredients" followed immediately by an arrow is placed on the principal display panel immediately above the location of the statement without intervening print or designs.

(f)   The name or trade name of the person that prepared the product may appear as the name of the manufacturer or packer without qualification on the label. Otherwise the name of the distributor of the product shall be shown with a phrase such as "Prepared for ^***." The place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor shall be shown on the label by city, state, and postal zip code when the business is listed in a telephone or city directory, and if not listed in a directory, then the place of business shall be shown by street address, city, state, and postal zip code. The name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor may be shown:

(1)   On the principal display panel or

(2)   On the 20 percent panel adjacent to the principal display panel reserved for required information or

(3)   On the front riser panel of frozen food cartons.

(g)   The requirements for the statement of net quantity of contents are:

(1)   The statement of net quantity of contents shall appear on the principal display panel of all containers to be sold at retail intact and shall appear on all containers in conspicuous and easily legible boldface print or type in distinct contrast to other matter on the package and shall be declared in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection.

(2)   The statement as it is shown on a label shall not be false or misleading and shall express an accurate statement of the quantity of contents of the container exclusive of wrappers and packing substances. Reasonable variations caused by loss or gain of moisture during the course of good distribution practices or by unavoidable deviations in good manufacturing practice will be recognized. Variations from stated quantity of contents shall not be unreasonably large.

(3)   The statement shall be placed on the principal display panel within the bottom 30 percent of the area of the panel in lines generally parallel to the base: Provided, that on packages having a principal display panel of 5 square inches or less, the requirement for placement within the bottom 30 percent of the area of the label panel shall not apply when the statement meets the other requirements of this Subsection. In any case, the statement may appear in more than one line, The terms "net weight" or "net wt." shall be used when stating the net quantity of contents in terms of weight, and the term net contents" or "content" when stating the net quantity of contents in terms of fluid measure.

(4)   Where no general consumer usage to the contrary exists, the statement shall be in terms of liquid measure, if the product is liquid, or in terms of weight if the product is solid, semi-solid viscous or a mixture of solid and liquid. For example, a declaration of 3/4 pound avoirdupois weight shall be expressed as "Net Wt. 12 oz. except as provided for in Paragraph (5) of this Subsection for random weight packages; a declaration of 1 1/2 pounds avoirdupois weight shall be expressed as "Net Wt. 24 oz. (1 ½ lbs.)" or "Net Wt. 24 oz. (1.5 lbs.)."

(5)   On packages containing 1 pound or 1 pint and less than 4 pounds or 1 gallon, the statement shall be expressed as a dual declaration both in ounces and (immediately thereafter in parenthesis) in pounds, with any remainder in terms of ounces or common or decimal fraction of pound, or in the case of liquid measure, in the largest whole units with any remainder in terms of fluid ounces or common or decimal fractions of the pint or quart, except that on random weight packages the statement shall be expressed in terms of pounds and decimal fractions of the pound carried out to not more than two decimal places, for packages over 1 pound, and for packages which do not exceed 1 pound the statement may be in decimal fractions of the pound in lieu of ounces.

(6)   The statement shall be in letters and numerals in type size established in relationship to the area of the principal display panel of the same package and shall be uniform for all packages of substantially, the same size by complying with the following type specifications:

(A)   Not less than one-sixteenth inch in height on packages, the principal display panel of which has an area of 5 square inches or less;

(B)   Not less than one- eighth inch in height on packages, the principal display panel that has an area of more than 5 but not more than 25 square inches;

(C)   Not less than three-sixteenths inch in height on packages, the principal display panel of which has an area of more than 25 but not more than 100 square inches.

(D)   Not less than one-quarter inch in height on packages, the principal display panel of which has an area of more than 100 but not more than 400 square inches.

(E)   Not less than one-half inch in height on packages, the principal display panel of which has an area of more than 400 square inches.

(7)   The ratio of height to width of letters and numerals shall not exceed a differential of 3 units to 1 unit (no more than 3 times as high as it is wide). Heights pertain to upper case of capital letters. When upper and lower case or all lower case letters are used, it is the lower case letter "o" or its equivalent that shall meet the minimum standards. When fractions are used, each component numeral shall meet one-half the height in standards.

(8)   The statement shall appear as a distinct item on the principal display panel and shall be separated by a space at least equal to the height of the lettering used in the statement from other printed label information appearing above or below that statement and by a space at least equal to twice the width of the letter "N" of the style of type used in the quantity of contents statement from other printed label information appearing to the left or right of the statement. It shall not include any term qualifying a unit of weight, measure, or count such as "jumbo quart," "full gallon," "giant quart," "when packed," "Minimum" or words of similar import.

(9)   The following exemptions from the requirements contained in this Subsection are hereby established.

(A)   Individually wrapped and labeled packages of less than 1/2 ounce net weight that are in a shipping container, need not bear a statement of net quantity of contents as specified in this Subsection when the statement of net quantity of contents on the shipping container meets the requirements of this Subsection.

(B)   Random weight consumer size packages bearing labels declaring net weight, price per pound, and total price, shall be exempt from the type size, dual declaration and placement requirements of this Subsection, if an accurate statement of net weight is shown conspicuously and on the principal display panel of the package.

(10)   Labels for containers that bear any representation as to the number of servings contained therein shall bear, contiguous to the representation, and in the same size type as is used for the representation, a statement of the net quantity of each serving.

(11)   As used in this Section a "random weight package" is one that is one of a lot, shipment, or delivery of packages of the same product with varying weights and with no fixed weight pattern.

(12)   On a multiunit retail package, a statement of the net quantity of contents shall appear on the outside of the package and shall include the number of individual units, the quantity of each individual unit, and in parentheses, the total net quantity of contents of the multiunit package in terms of avoirdupois or fluid ounces, except that the declaration of total quantity need not be followed by an additional parenthetical declaration in terms of the largest whole units and Subdivisions thereof, as required by Paragraph (5) and of this Subsection. For the purposes of this Subsection, "multiunit retail package" means a package containing two or more individually packaged units of the identical commodity and in the same quantity, with the individual packages intended to be sold as part of the multiunit retail package but capable of being individually sold in full compliance with all requirements of the rules in this Part. Open multiunit retail packages that do not obscure the number of units and the labeling thereon are not subject to this Subsection if the labeling of each individual unit complies with the requirements of Paragraphs (2), (3), (5), and (8) of this Subsection. On multiunit retail packages, consisting of varied cuts, in the same package destined for resale as a complete unit, shall be labeled to indicate species, proper name of each cut and net weight of each cut or component part. In addition, the total net contents of the entire unit will be shown along with other label features.

(h)   The requirements for the inspection legend and establishment number are:

(1)   The official establishment number shall be either embossed or lithographed on all hermetically sealed metal, plastic or glass containers of products fully processed within the containers in an official establishment, except that the containers that bear labels lithographed directly on the container and in which the establishment number is incorporated need not have the establishment number separately embossed or lithographed thereon. Labels shall not be affixed to containers so as to obscure the embossed or lithographed establishment number.

(2)   When any product is placed in a carton or in a wrapper of paper or cloth or in any other type of container approved by the Director, that is labeled in accordance with this Part, the official inspection legend and the official establishment number as specified in Subsection (b) of this Section, may be applied by means of a sticker to be securely and prominently affixed, along with the name of the product, at a place on the label reserved for the purpose. In case there are two or more display panels featuring the name of product, the inspection sticker shall be affixed to each panel.

(3)   The official establishment number may be omitted from the official inspection legend on the immediate containers of frozen dinners and pies, and similarly packaged products when the official establishment number is placed on an end panel at the time of packaging and when it is presented on a single colored background in a prominent and legible manner in a size sufficient to insure easy recognition.

(4)   The official establishment number may be omitted from the official inspection legend on consumer size packages of sliced meat food products when the official establishment number is printed on the label at the time of packaging and when it is presented on a single colored background in a prominent and legible manner in a size sufficient to insure easy recognition.

(5)   The official establishment number may be omitted from the official inspection legend on consumer size containers of meat food products in aluminum pans or trays when the official establishment number is embossed on the pans or trays and when a statement such as "Est. No. on Pan" is placed contiguous to the official inspection legend on the container.

(6)   The official establishment number may be omitted from the official inspection legend printed on artificial casings or bags enclosing meat food products when the official establishment number is etched in ink on a flat surface of a metal clip used to close the container in a prominent and legible manner in a size sufficient to insure easy recognition and when a statement, such as, "Est. No. on Metal Clip" is placed contiguous to the official inspection legend on the casing or bag.

(7)   The official establishment number may be omitted from the official inspection legend printed on paper labels of canned products when the official establishment number is printed on the principal display panel at the time of labeling the container, or the official establishment number may be printed on the back of the paper label when the statement "Est. No. On Back of Label" is printed contiguous to the official legend, in a prominent and legible manner in a size sufficient to insure easy recognition.

(i)   Labels of any product within any of the following Paragraphs shall show the information required by the Paragraph for the product:

(1)   A label for product that is an imitation of another food shall bear the word "imitation" immediately preceding the name of the food imitated and in the same size and style of lettering as in that name and immediately thereafter the word "ingredients" and the names of the ingredients arranged in the order of their predominance.

(2)   If a product purports to be or is represented for any special dietary use by man, its label shall bear a statement concerning its vitamin, mineral, and other dietary properties upon which the claim for use is based in whole or in part and shall be in conformity with rules the Director may prescribe.

(3)   When an approved artificial smoke flavoring or an approved smoke flavoring is added as an ingredient in the formula of a meat food product, there shall appear on the label, in prominent letters and contiguous to the name of the product, a statement such as "Artificial Smoke Flavoring Added" or "Smoke Flavoring Added," as may be applicable, and the ingredient statement shall identify any artificial smoke flavoring so added as an ingredient in the formula of the meat food product.

(4)   When any other artificial flavoring is to be added to a product, the ingredient statement shall identify it as "Artificial Flavoring."

(5)   When product is placed in a casing to which artificial coloring is applied there shall appear on the label, in a prominent manner and contiguous to the name of the product, the words, "Artificially colored."

(6)   If a casing is removed from product at an official establishment and there is evidence of artificial coloring on the surface of the product, there shall appear on the label, in a prominent manner and contiguous to the name of product, the words "Artificially colored."

(7)   When a casing is colored prior to its use as a covering for product and the color is not transferred to the product enclosed in the casing, no reference to color need appear on the label but no casing may be used if it is misleading or deceptive with respect to color, quality, or kind of product, or otherwise.

(8)   Product that bears or contains any other artificial coloring shall bear a label stating that fact on the immediate container or if there is none, on the product.

(9)   When an antioxidant is added to product as permitted under Part 35 of this Subchapter, there shall appear on the label in prominent letters and contiguous to the name of the product, a statement identifying the officially approved specific antioxidant by its common name or abbreviation thereof and the purpose for which it is added, such as, "BHA, BHT and Propylgallate added to help protect flavor."

(10)   Containers or other product packed in, bearing, or containing any chemical preservative shall bear a label stating that fact.

(j)   Packaged products that require special handling to maintain their wholesome condition shall have prominently displayed on the principal display panel of the label the statement: "Keep Refrigerated," "Keep Frozen," "Perishable Keep Under Refrigeration," or a similar statement as the Director may approve in specific cases. Products that are distributed frozen during distribution and thawed prior to or during display for sale at retail shall bear the statement on the shipping container: "Keep Frozen." The consumer-size container for the products shall bear the statement "Previously Handled Frozen for Your Protection, Refreeze or Keep Refrigerated." For all perishable canned products the statement shall be shown in upper case letters one-fourth inch in height for containers having a net weight of 3 pounds or less, and for containers having a net weight over 3 pounds, the statement shall be in upper case letters at least one-half inch in height.

[Source: Added at 21 Ok Reg 1181, eff 5-27-04; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 2310, eff 7-11-05]