Texas Administrative Code
Title 4 - AGRICULTURE
Part 3 - TEXAS FEED AND FERTILIZER CONTROL SERVICE/OFFICE OF THE TEXAS STATE CHEMIST
Chapter 63 - PET FOOD
Section 63.2 - Label Format and Labeling
Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a) The quantity statement and product name must be shown on the principal display panel. All other required information may be placed elsewhere on the label but shall be sufficiently conspicuous as to render it easily read by the average purchaser under ordinary conditions of purchase and sale.
(b) The quantity statement shall be made in conformity with the United States Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, RSA 1451 et seq, and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
(c) The information which is required to appear in the "Guaranteed Analysis" shall be listed in the following order:
(d) The label of a pet food shall specify the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor of the pet food. The statement of the place of business should include the street address, if any, of such place unless such street address is shown in a current city directory or telephone directory.
(e) If a person manufacturers, packages, or distributes a pet food in a place other than his principal place of business, the label may state the principal place of business in lieu of the actual place where each package of such pet food was manufactured or packaged or is to be distributed, if such statement is not misleading in any particular.
(f) A vignette, graphic, or pictorial representation of a product on a pet food label shall not misrepresent the contents of the package.
(g) The use of the word "proven" in connection with label claims for a pet food is improper unless scientific or other empirical evidence establishing the claim represented as "proven" is available.
(h) No statement shall appear upon the label of a pet food which makes false or misleading comparisons between that pet food and any other pet food.
(i) Personal or commercial endorsements are permitted on pet food labels where said endorsements are factual and not otherwise misleading.
(j) When a pet food is enclosed in an outer container or wrapper which is intended for retail sale, all required label information must appear on such outside wrapper or container unless all of the required label information is readily legible through apertures or transparencies in such outside container or wrapper.
(k) The word "dog food," "cat food," or similar designations must appear conspicuously upon the principal display panels of the pet food labels.
(l) The label of a pet food shall not contain an unqualified representation or claim, directly or indirectly, that the pet food therein contained or a recommended feeding thereof, is or meets the requisites of a complete, perfect, scientific, or balanced ration for dogs or cats unless such product or feeding:
(m) Labels for products which are compounded for or which are suitable for only a limited purpose (i.e., a product designed for the feeding of puppies) may contain representations that said pet food product or recommended feeding thereof, is or meets the requisites of a complete, perfect, scientific, or balanced ration for dogs or cats only:
(n) Except as specified by § RSA 63.3(a) of this title (relating to Brand and Product Names), the name of any ingredient which appears on the label other than in the product name shall not be given undue emphasis so as to create the impression that such an ingredient is present in the product in a larger amount than is the fact, the aforementioned ingredient shall constitute at least 3.0% of the total ingredients (exclusive of water for processing) when preceded by the designation "with" or like term, the name shall be in the same size, style and color print, and if the names of more than one such ingredient are shown, they shall appear in the order of their respective predominance by weight in the product.
(o) The label of a dog or cat food, other than one prominently identified as a snack or treat as part of the designation required upon the principal display panel under subsection (k) of this section, shall bear, on either the principal display panel or the information panel, in type of a size reasonably related to the largest type on the panel, a statement of the nutritional adequacy or purpose of the product. Such statement shall consist of one of the following:
(p) The use of claims on pet food labels stating improvement or newness shall be sufficiently substantiated by the manufacturer and limited to six months production. The use of claims stating preference or comparative attribute claims shall be sufficiently substantiated by the manufacturer and limited to one year production after which the claim must be removed or resubstantiated.
(q) Dog and cat foods labeled as complete and balanced for any or all life's stages as provided in subsection (o)(1) of this section except those pet foods labeled in accordance with subsection (o)(4) of this section shall list feeding directions on the product label. These directions shall be expressed in common terms and shall appear prominently on the label. Feeding directions shall, at a minimum, state "Feed (weight/unit of product) per (weight unit) of dog (or cat)."