15 U.S.C. § 1459
Section 1459 · Definitions
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case State Fair of Texas v. United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (1981)
Most recently applied in 966 F. Supp. 2d 1047 - Del Real, LLC v. Harris (August 2013)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
For the purpose of this chapter—
(a) The term “consumer commodity”, except as otherwise specifically provided by this subsection, means any food, drug, device, or cosmetic (as those terms are defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.]), and any other article, product, or commodity of any kind or class which is customarily produced or distributed for sale through retail sales agencies or instrumentalities for consumption by individuals, or use by individuals for purposes of personal care or in the performance of services ordinarily rendered within the household, and which usually is consumed or expended in the course of such consumption or use. Such term does not include—
(1) any meat or meat product, poultry or poultry product, or tobacco or tobacco product;
(2) any commodity subject to packaging or labeling requirements imposed by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act [7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.], or the provisions of the eighth paragraph under the heading “Bureau of Animal Industry” of the Act of March 4, 1913 [21 U.S.C. 151 et seq.], commonly known as the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act;
(3) any drug subject to the provisions of section 503(b)(1) or 506 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 353(b)(1) and 356];
(4) any beverage subject to or complying with packaging or labeling requirements imposed under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act [27 U.S.C. 201 et seq.]; or
(5) any commodity subject to the provisions of the Federal Seed Act [7 U.S.C. 1551 et seq.].
(b) The term “package” means any container or wrapping in which any consumer commodity is enclosed for use in the delivery or display of that consumer commodity to retail purchasers, but does not include—
(1) shipping containers or wrappings used solely for the transportation of any consumer commodity in bulk or in quantity to manufacturers, packers, or processors, or to wholesale or retail distributors thereof;
(2) shipping containers or outer wrappings used by retailers to ship or deliver any commodity to retail customers if such containers and wrappings bear no printed matter pertaining to any particular commodity; or
(3) containers subject to the provisions of the Act of August 3, 1912 (37 Stat. 250, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 231 233), or the Act of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1186, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 234 236).
(c) The term “label” means any written, printed, or graphic matter affixed to any consumer commodity or affixed to or appearing upon a package containing any consumer commodity.
(d) The term “person” includes any firm, corporation, or association.
(e) The term “commerce” means (1) commerce between any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States, and any place outside thereof, and (2) commerce within the District of Columbia or within any territory or possession of the United States not organized with a legislative body, but shall not include exports to foreign countries.
(f) The term “principal display panel” means that part of a label that is most likely to be displayed, presented, shown, or examined under normal and customary conditions of display for retail sale.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, referred to subsec. (a), is act June 25, 1938, ch. 675, 52 Stat. 1040, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 9 (§301 et seq.) of Title 21, Food and Drugs. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 301 of Title 21 and Tables.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is act June 25, 1947, ch. 125, as amended generally by Pub. L. 92 516, Oct. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 973, which is classified generally to subchapter II (§136 et seq.) of Title 7, Agriculture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 136 of Title 7 and Tables.
The eighth paragraph under the heading “Bureau of Animal Industry” of the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is classified to chapter 5 (§151 et seq.) of Title 21, Food and Drugs.
The Federal Alcohol Administration Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(4), is act Aug. 29, 1935, ch. 814, 49 Stat. 977, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 8 (§201 et seq.) of Title 27, Intoxicating Liquors. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 201 of Title 27 and Tables.
The Federal Seed Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(5), is act Aug. 9, 1939, ch. 615, 53 Stat. 1275, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 37 (§1551 et seq.) of Title 7, Agriculture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1551 of Title 7 and Tables.
Amendments
1968—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 90 628 struck out reference to the Act of August 31, 1916, and the Act of May 21, 1928.
Effective Date of 1968 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 90 628 effective 60 days after Oct. 22, 1968, see section 3 of Pub. L. 90 628, set out as a note under section 251 of this title.