[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 9, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 9CFR381.133]

[Page 488-490]
 
                  TITLE 9--ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS
 
     CHAPTER III--FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 381_POULTRY PRODUCTS INSPECTION REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart N_Labeling and Containers
 
Sec. 381.133  Generically approved labeling.

    (a)(1) An official establishment or an establishment certified under 
a foreign inspection system, in accordance with subpart T of this part, 
is authorized to use generically approved labeling, as defined in 
paragraph (b) of this section, without such labeling being submitted

[[Page 489]]

for approval to the Food Safety and Inspection Service in Washington or 
the field, provided the labeling is in accord with this section and 
shows all mandatory features in a prominent manner as required in 
subpart N of this part, and is not otherwise false or misleading in any 
particular.
    (2) The Food Safety and Inspection Service shall select samples of 
generically approved labeling from the records maintained by official 
establishments and establishments certified under foreign inspection 
systems, in accordance with subpart T of this part, as required in Sec. 
381.132, to determine compliance with labeling requirements. Any finding 
of false or misleading labeling shall institute the proceedings 
prescribed in Sec. 381.233.
    (b) Generically approved labeling is labeling which complies with 
the following:
    (1) Labeling for a product which has a product standard as specified 
in subpart 381 of this subchapter or the Standards and Labeling Policy 
Book and which does not contain any special claims, such as quality 
claims, nutrient content claims, health claims, negative claims, 
geographical origin claims, or guarantees, or which is not a domestic 
product labeled in a foreign language;
    (2) Labeling for single-ingredient products (such as chicken legs or 
turkey breasts) which does not contain any special claims, such as 
quality claims, nutrient content claims, health claims, negative claims, 
geographical origin claims, or guarantees, or which is not a domestic 
product labeled with a foreign language;
    (3) Labeling for containers of products sold under contract 
specifications to Federal Government agencies, when such product is not 
offered for sale to the general public, provided that the contract 
specifications include specific requirements with respect to labeling, 
and are made available to the inspector-in-charge;
    (4) Labeling for shipping containers which contain fully labeled 
immediate containers, provided such labeling complies with Sec. 
381.127;
    (5) Labeling for products not intended for human food, provided they 
comply with Sec. Sec. 381.152(c) and 381.193, and labeling for poultry 
heads and feet for export for processing as human food if they comply 
with Sec. 381.190(b);
    (6) Poultry inspection legends, which comply with subpart M of this 
part;
    (7) Inserts, tags, liners, pasters, and like devices containing 
printed or graphic matter and for use on, or to be placed within 
containers, and coverings of products, provided such devices contain no 
reference to product and bear no misleading feature;
    (8) Labeling for consumer test products not intended for sale; and
    (9) Labeling which was previously approved by the Food Labeling 
Division as sketch labeling, and the final labeling was prepared without 
modification or with the following modifications:
    (i) All features of the labeling are proportionately enlarged or 
reduced, provided that all minimum size requirements specified in 
applicable regulations are met and the labeling is legible;
    (ii) The substitution of any unit of measurement with its 
abbreviation or the substitution of any abbreviation with its unit of 
measurement, e.g., ``lb.'' for ``pound,'' or ``oz.'' for ``ounce,'' or 
of the word ``pound'' for ``lb.'' or ``ounce'' for ``oz.'';
    (iii) A master or stock label has been approved from which the name 
and address of the distributor are omitted and such name and address are 
applied before being used (in such case, the words ``prepared for'' or 
similar statement must be shown together with the blank space reserved 
for the insertion of the name and address when such labels are offered 
for approval);
    (iv) Wrappers or other covers bearing pictorial designs, emblematic 
designs or illustrations, e.g., floral arrangements, illustrations of 
animals, fireworks, etc. are used with approved labeling (the use of 
such designs will not make necessary the application of labeling not 
otherwise required);
    (v) A change in the language or the arrangement of directions 
pertaining to the opening of containers or the serving of the product;
    (vi) The addition, deletion, or amendment of a dated or undated 
coupon, a cents-off statement, cooking instructions, packer product code 
information, or UPC product code information;

[[Page 490]]

    (vii) Any change in the name or address of the packer, manufacturer 
or distributor that appears in the signature line;
    (viii) Any change in the net weight, provided that the size of the 
net weight statement complies with Sec. 381.121;
    (ix) The addition, deletion, or amendment of recipe suggestions for 
the product;
    (x) Any change in punctuation;
    (xi) Newly assigned or revised establishment numbers for a 
particular establishment for which use of the labeling has been approved 
by the Food Labeling Division, Regulatory Programs;
    (xii) The addition or deletion of open dating information;
    (xiii) A change in the type of packaging material on which the label 
is printed;
    (xiv) Brand name changes, provided that there are no design changes, 
the brand name does not use a term that connotes quality or other 
product characteristics, the brand name has no geographic significance, 
and the brand name does not affect the name of the product;
    (xv) The deletion of the word ``new'' on new product labeling;
    (xvi) The addition, deletion, or amendment of special handling 
statements, provided that the change is consistent with Sec. 
381.125(a);
    (xvii) The addition of safe handling instructions as required by 
Sec. 381.125(b);
    (xviii) Changes reflecting a change in the quantity of an ingredient 
shown in the formula without a change in the order of predominance shown 
on the label, provided that the change in quantity of ingredients 
complies with any minimum or maximum limits for the use of such 
ingredients prescribed in Sec. 381.147 and subpart P of this part;
    (xix) Changes in the color of the labeling, provided that sufficient 
contrast and legibility remain;
    (xx) A change in the product vignette, provided that the change does 
not affect mandatory labeling information or misrepresent the content of 
the package;
    (xxi) The addition, deletion, or substitution of the official USDA 
poultry grade shield; (xxii) A change in the establishment number by a 
corporation or parent company for an establishment under its ownership;
    (xxiii) Changes in nutrition labeling that only involve quantitative 
adjustments to the nutrition labeling information, except for services 
sizes, provided the nutrition labeling information maintains its 
accuracy and consistency;
    (xxiv) Deletion of any claim, and the deletion of non-mandatory 
features or non-mandatory information;
    (xxv) The addition or deletion of a direct translation of the 
English language into a foreign language for products marked ``for 
export only''; and
    (xxvi) The use of the descriptive term ``fresh'' in accordance with 
Sec. 381.129(b)(6)(i) of this subchapter.
    (xxvii) The use of the descriptive Term frozen as required by Sec. 
381.129(b)(6)(ii) of this subchapter.

[60 FR 67457, Dec. 29, 1995, as amended at 61 FR 66201, Dec. 17, 1996]