Truth in Labeling

AMERICANS DEPEND on the national government to protect them from all kinds of potentially damaging substances and devices, and one way that the U.S. Congress has dealt with this issue has been to pass a series of acts mandating truth in labeling in everything from food to drugs to cosmetics to nutritional supplements to medical devices to music to movies to books to toys to blood to electrical appliances to automobiles to industrial hazards.

The history of labeling in the United States began early in the 20th century, when, in 1907 Congress passed the Federal Food and Drug Act and gave the Bureau of Chemistry, later known as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the responsibility for ensuring that food products were clean and free of toxins and that medicines were safe.

Later, the government also took on the responsibility of guaranteeing that medicines and products accomplished what the manufacturers promised they would do. In the 1920s, through a series of bills, Congress called for truth in labeling in clothing with the Truth in Fabric Act. This was followed in 1938 with the Federal Seed Act, which mandated truth in the labeling of seeds and seed products, and[Page 817] in 1948, by the Fur Labeling Act, calling for accurate labeling of furs and fur products to avoid misrepresentation. In the 1960s, Congress extended the truth in labeling requirements to include truth in lending, requiring that consumers be notified of specific charges, practices, and penalties when borrowing money to purchase high-priced goods.

In the wake of new attention to consumer rights, a number of government regulatory agencies announced additions to labeling requirements. Many conservatives, such as conservative economist Milton Friedman, argued that the government should not insist on labeling products because the market would take care of the problems; consumers would refuse to purchase and use unsafe products.

However, government agencies, liberals, and most consumers disagreed with Friedman, and the list of products affected by labeling requirements grew. Label requirements for packaging products was strengthened in 1964 with the Truth in Packaging Act in which Congress stipulated that package labels contain information on the weight, volume, or count of the package contents. Congress also mandated that manufacturers include a valid description of the contents of a package and include the name and address of the manufacturer on all packages.