New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 1 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS › Chapter VI - Food Control › Subchapter H - Unit Pricing › Article 1 - MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS › Part 317 - LABELING, MARKING DEVICES AND CONTAINERS › Section 317.8 - False or misleading labeling or practices generally; specific prohibitions and requirements for labels and containers

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
Agriculture and Markets Law, § 96-z-34
(a) No product or any of its wrappers,
					 packaging, or other containers shall bear any false or misleading marking,
					 label, or other labeling and no statement, word, picture, design or device
					 which conveys any false impression or gives any false indication of origin or
					 quality or is otherwise false or misleading shall appear in any marking or
					 other labeling. No product shall be wholly or partly enclosed in any wrapper,
					 packaging or other container that is so wholly or partly enclosed in any
					 wrapper, packaging or other container that is so made, formed or filled as to
					 be misleading.
(b) The labels and
					 containers of product shall comply with the following provisions, as
					 applicable:
(1) Terms having geographical
					 significance with reference to a lacality other than that in which the product
					 is prepared may appear on the label only when qualified by the word "style",
					 "type" or "brand", as the case may be, in the same size and style of lettering
					 as in the geographical term, and accompanied with a prominent qualifying
					 statement identifying the country, State, territory or locality in which the
					 product is prepared, using terms appropriate to effect the qualification. When
					 the word "style" or "type" is used, there must be a recognized style or type of
					 product identified with and peculiar to the area represented by the
					 geographical term and the product must possess the characteristics of such
					 style or type and the word "brand" shall not be used in such a way as to be
					 false or misleading; provided, that a geographical term which has come into
					 general usage as a trade name and which has been approved by the commissioner
					 as being a generic term may be used without the qualifications provided for in
					 this paragraph. The terms "frankfurter", "vienna", "bologna", "lebanon
					 bologna", "braunschweiger", "thuringer", "genoa", "leona", "berliner",
					 "holstein", "goteborg", "milan", "polish", "italian" and their modifications,
					 as applied to sausages, the terms "brunswick" and "irish" as applied to stews
					 and the term "boston" as applied to pork shoulder butts need not be accompanied
					 with the word "style", "type" or "brand" or a statement identifying the
					 locality in which the product is prepared.
(2) Such terms as "farm" or "country" shall
					 not be used on labels in connection with products unless such products are
					 actually prepared on the farm or in the country; provided, that if the product
					 is prepared in the same way as on the farm or in the country these terms, if
					 qualified by the word "style" in the same size and style of lettering, may be
					 used; provided further, that the term "farm" may be used as a part of a brand
					 designation when qualified by the word "brand" in the same size and style of
					 lettering, and followed with a statement identifying the locality in which the
					 product is prepared. Sausage containing cereal shall not be labeled "farm
					 style" or "country style" and lard not rendered in an open kettle shall not be
					 designated as "farm style" or "country style".
(3) The requirement that the label shall
					 contain the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or
					 distributor shall not relieve any establishent from the requirement that its
					 label shall not be misleading in any particular.
(4) The term "spring lamb" or "genuine spring
					 lamb" is applicable only to carcasses of new-crop lambs slaughtered during the
					 period beginning in March and terminating not beyond the close of the week
					 containing the first Monday in October.
(5)
(i)
					 Coverings shall not be of such color, design or kind as to be misleading with
					 respect to color, quality or kind of product to which they are applied. For
					 example, transparent or semitransparent coverings for such articles as sliced
					 bacon or fresh (uncooked) meat and meat food products shall not bear lines or
					 other designs of red or other color which give a false impression of leanness
					 of the product. Transparent or semitransparent wrappers, casings or coverings
					 for use in packaging cured, cured and smoked or cured and cooked sausage
					 products and sliced ready-to-eat meat food products may be color tinted or bear
					 red designs on 50 percent of such wrapper or covering: provided, that the
					 transparent or semitransparent portion of the principal display panel is free
					 of color tinting and red designs: and provided further, that the principal
					 display panel provides at least 20 percent unobstructed clear space,
					 consolidated in one area so that the true nature and color of the product is
					 visible to the consumer.
(ii)
					 Packages for sliced bacon that have a transparent opening shall be designed to
					 expose, for viewing, the cut surface of a representative slice. Packages for
					 sliced bacon which meet the following specifications will be accepted as
					 meeting the requirements of this subparagraph provided the enclosed bacon is
					 positioned so that the cut surface of the representative slice can be visually
					 examined:
(a) For shingle-packed sliced bacon,
					 the transparent window shall be designed to reveal at least 70 percent of the
					 length (longest dimension) of the representative slice, and this window shall
					 be at least 1 1/2 inches wide. The transparent window shall be located not
					 more than five-eighths inch from the top or bottom edge of a 1-pound or smaller
					 package and not more than three-fourths inch from either the top or bottom edge
					 of a package larger than one pound.
(b) For stack-packed sliced bacon, the
					 transparent window shall be designed to reveal at least 70 percent of the
					 length (longest dimension) of the representative slice and be at least 1
					 1/2 inches wide.
(6) The word "fresh" shall not be used on
					 labels to designate product which contains any sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite,
					 potassium nitrate or potassium nitrite or which has been salted for
					 preservation.
(7) No ingredient
					 shall be designated on the label as a spice, flavoring, or coloring unless it
					 is a spice, flavoring, or coloring, as the case may be, except that spice may
					 be considered to be flavoring as provided in section
					 317.2(f)(1)(i).
					 An ingredient that is both a spice and a coloring, or both a flavoring and a
					 coloring, shall be designated as "spice and coloring", or "flavoring and
					 coloring", as the case may be, unless such ingredient is designated by its
					 specific name.
(8) As used on
					 labels of product, the term "gelatin" shall mean (i) the jelly prepared in
					 official establishments by cooking pork skins, tendons or connective tissue
					 from inspected and passed product and (ii) dry commercial gelatin or the jelly
					 resulting from its use.
(9) Product
					 (other than canned product) labeled with the term "loaf" as part of its name:
(i) If distributed from the official
					 establishment in consumer size containers may be in any shape;
(ii) If distributed in a container of a size
					 larger than that sold intact at retail the product shall be prepared in
					 rectangular form, or as in (iii) of this paragraph;
(iii) If labeled as an "Old Fashioned Loaf"
					 shall be prepared in a traditional form, such as rectangular with round top or
					 circular with flat bottom and rounded top.
(10) The term "baked" shall apply only to
					 product which has been cooked by the direct action of dry heat and for a
					 sufficient time to permit the product to assume the characteristics of a baked
					 article, such as the formation of a brown crust on the surface, rendering out
					 of surface fat and the carmelization of the sugar if applied. Baked loaves
					 shall be heated to a temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit and baked
					 pork cuts shall be heated to an internal temperature of at least 170 degrees
					 Fahrenheit.
(11) When products such
					 as loaves are browned by dipping in hot edible oil or by a flame, the label
					 shall state such fact, e.g., by the words "Browned in Hot Cottonseed Oil" or
					 "Browned by a Flame", as the case may be, appearing as part of the product
					 name.
(12) The term "meat" and the
					 names of particular kinds of meat, such as beef, veal, mutton, lamb and pork,
					 shall not be used in such manner as to be false or misleading.
(13) The word "ham", without any prefix
					 indicating the species of animal from which derived, shall be used in labeling
					 only in connection with the hind legs of swine. Ham shanks as such or ham shank
					 meat as such or the trimmings accruing in the trimming and shaping of hams
					 shall not be labeled "ham" or "ham meat" without qualification. When used in
					 connection with a chopped product the term "ham" or "ham meat" shall not
					 include the skin.
(14) The terms
					 "shankless" and "hockless" shall apply only to hams and pork shoulders from
					 which the shank or hock has been completely removed, thus eliminating the
					 entire tibia and fibula, or radius and ulna, respectively, together with the
					 overlying muscle, skin and other tissue.
(15) Such terms as "meat extract" or "extract
					 of beef" without qualification shall not be used on labels in connection with
					 products prepared from organs or other parts of the carcass, other than fresh
					 meat. Extracts prepared from any parts of the carcass other than fresh meat may
					 be properly labeled as extracts with the true name of the parts from which
					 prepared. In the case of extract in fluid form, the word "fluid" shall also
					 appear on the label, as for example, "fluid extract of beef".
(16) When cereal, vegetable starch, starchy
					 vegetable flour, soy flour, soy protein concentrate, isolated soy protein,
					 dried milk, nonfat dry milk or calcium reduced dried skim milk is added to
					 sausage within the limits prescribed in Part 319 of this Article, there shall
					 appear on the label in a prominent manner, contiguous to the name of the
					 product, the name of each such added ingredient, as for example, "Cereal
					 Added", "With Cereal", "Potato Flour Added", "Cereal and Potato Flour Added",
					 "Soy Flour Added", "Soy Protein Concentrate Added", "Isolated Soy Protein
					 Added", "Nonfat Dry Milk Added", "Calcium Reduced Dried Skim Milk Added" or
					 "Cereal and Nonfat Dry Milk Added", as the case may be.
(17) When any product is enclosed in a
					 container along with a packing substance such as brine, vinegar or agar jelly,
					 a declaration of the packing substance shall be printed prominently on the
					 label as part of the name of the product, as for example, "frankfurts packed in
					 brine", "lamb tongue packed in vinegar" or "beef tongue packed in agar jelly"
					 as the case may be. The packing substance shall not be used in such a manner as
					 will result in the container being so filled as to be misleading.
(18) "Leaf lard" is lard prepared from fresh
					 leaf fat.
(19) When lard or
					 hardened lard is mixed with rendered pork fat or hardened rendered port fat,
					 the mixture shall be designated as "rendered pork fat" or "hardened rendered
					 pork fat", as the case may be.
(20)
					 Oil, stearin or stock obtained from beef or mutton fats rendered at a
					 temperature above 170 degrees Fahrenheit shall not be designated as "oleo oil",
					 "oleo stearin" or "oleo stock", respectively.
(21) When not more than 20 percent of beef
					 fat, mutton fat, oleo stearin, vegetable stearin, or hardened vegetable fat is
					 mixed with lard or with rendered pork fat, there shall appear on the label,
					 contiguous to and in the same size and style of lettering as the name of the
					 product, the words "beef fat added", "mutton fat added", "oleo stearin added",
					 "vegetable stearin added" or "hardened vegetable fat added", as the case may
					 be. If more than 20 percent is added, the product name shall refer to the
					 particular animal fat or fats used, such as, "Lard and Beef Fat". The
					 designation "vegetable fat" is applicable to vegetable oil, vegetable stearing,
					 or a combination of such oil and stearin, whereas the designations "vegetable
					 oil" and "vegetable stearin" shall be applicable only to the oil and the
					 stearin respectively, when used in meat food products.
(22) Cooked, cured or pickled pigs feet, pigs
					 knuckles and similar products, shall be labeled to show that the bones remain
					 in the product, if such is the case. The designation "semi-boneless" shall not
					 be used if less than 50 percent of the total weight of bones has been
					 removed.
(23) When monoglycerides,
					 diglycerides, and/or polyglycerol esters of fatty acids are added to rendered
					 animal fat or a combination of such fat and vegetable fat, there shall appear
					 on the label in a prominent manner and contiguous to the name of the product a
					 statement such as "With Monoglycerides and Diglycerides Added", or "With
					 Diglycerides and Monoglycerides" or "With Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids"
					 as the case may be.
(24) Colored
					 oleomargarine or colored margarine packed for retail sale shall be in
					 containers not exceeding one-pound capacity, labeled as follows:
(i) The word "oleomargarine" or "margarine"
					 shall appear on each principal display panel of the container in type of
					 lettering at least as large and in at least the same prominence as any other
					 type of lettering appearing on such container.
(ii) A full and accurate statement of all the
					 ingredients contained in such oleomargarine or margarine shall be prominently
					 and informatively displayed contiguous to the word "oleomargarine" or
					 "margarine" wherever such word is featured on the container. The ingredients
					 shall be shown by their common or usual name and be arranged in the order of
					 their predominance. Collective terms such as "animal fat" and "vegetable fat"
					 shall not be used but the specific fat, oil or stearin shall be
					 shown.
(iii) Each part of the
					 contents of the container shall be enclosed in a wrapper bearing the word
					 "oleomargarine" or "margarine" in type or lettering not smaller than 20-point
					 type.
(iv) Wrapped quarter pound
					 sticks or similar units of such oleomargarine or margarine packaged together in
					 a container may constitute units for retail sale and they shall be individually
					 wrapped and labeled in accordance with subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of
					 this paragraph.
(25)
					 When approved proteolytic enzymes as permitted in Part 318 of this Article are
					 used on steaks or other meat cuts in an official establishment, there shall
					 appear on the label contiguous to the product name, a prominent descriptive
					 statement, such as "Dipped in a solution of Papain", to indicate the use of
					 such enzymes.
(26) When
					 dimethylpolysiloxan is added as an antifoaming agent to rendered fats, its
					 presence shall be declared on the label contiguous to the name of the product.
					 Such declaration shall read "Dimethylpolysiloxan Added".
(27) When pizzas are formulated with crust
					 containing calcium propionate or sodium propionate, there shall appear on the
					 label contiguous to the name of the product the statement "____ added to retard
					 spoilage of crust" preceded by the name of the preservative.
(28) Sausage of the dry varieties treated
					 with potassium sorbate or propylparaben (propyl p-hydroxybenzoate) as permitted
					 by Part 318 of this Article, shall be marked or labeled with a statement
					 disclosing such treatment and the purpose thereof, such as "dipped in a
					 potassium sorbate solution to retard mold growth".
(29) Meat of goats shall be identified as
					 goat meat or chevon.
(30) The term
					 "chitterlings" shall apply to the large intestines of swine, or young bovine
					 animals when preceded with the ward "calf" or "veal". Meat food products that
					 contain chitterlings or calf or veal chitterlings, in accordance with section
					 318.6(b)(8) 
					 of this Article shall be identified with product names that refer to such
					 ingredients, as for instance, "Chitterling Loaf", "Chitterling Pie", or "Calf
					 Chitterlings and Gravy", and shall be packed in containers having a capacity of
					 three pounds or less and of a kind usually sold at retail intact and bearing
					 such other information as is required by this Part.
(31) Products that contain blood from
					 livestock as permitted by Part 318 of this Article shall be labeled with a name
					 that includes the term "blood", and the specific kind of blood shall be
					 declared in the ingredient statement, e.g., "Swine blood", in the manner
					 required by this Part.
(32) A
					 calendar date may be shown on labeling when declared in accordance with the
					 provisions of this paragraph:
(i) The calendar
					 date shall express the month of the year and the day of the month for all
					 products and also the year in the case of products hermetically sealed in metal
					 or glass containers, dried or frozen products, or any other products that the
					 commissioner finds should be labeled with the year because the distribution and
					 marketing practices with respect to such products may cause a label without a
					 year identification to be misleading.
(ii) Immediately adjacent to the calendar
					 date shall be a phrase explaining the meaning of such date, in terms of
					 "packing" date, "sell by" date, or "use before" date, with or without a further
					 qualifying phrase, e.g., "For Maximum Freshness" or "For Best Quality", and
					 such phrases shall be approved by the commissioner as prescribed in section
					 317.4 
					 of this Part.
(33) When
					 bread, cereal, vegetable starch, starchy vegetable flour, soy flour, soy
					 protein concentrate, or isolated soy protein is added in bockwurst as permitted
					 in section
					 319.281  of this
					 Article, there shall appear on the label in a prominent manner and contiguous
					 to the product name, the name of such added ingredient, e.g., "bread added",
					 "cereal added", or "soy protein concentrate added", as the case may
					 be.
(34) The terms, "all", "pure",
					 "100%", and terms of similar connotation shall not be used on labels for
					 products to identify ingredient content, unless the product is prepared solely
					 from a single ingredient.