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HomeFood and Agricultural CodeDiv. 17Ch. 1§ 42509 Deceptive Food Packaging

§ 42509 Deceptive Food Packaging

Food and Agricultural Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 42509 Deceptive Food Packaging

Key Takeaways

  • •You can't trick people by putting the best fruits or nuts on the outside of a package if the inside stuff is worse.
  • •Even if all the fruits or nuts are almost the same size, you still can't make the outside look way better than what's inside.
  • •The whole package should show what's really inside, not just the good parts.

Example

You buy a bag of oranges at the store. The ones on top look big, juicy, and perfect.

But when you open the bag, most of the oranges inside are small, bruised, or not as nice. This is against the law because the outside of the bag made the oranges look way better than they really are.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 42509 Deceptive Food Packaging

“Deceptive pack” means any container or subcontainer which has in the outer layer or any exposed surface, fruits, nuts, or vegetables which are in quality, size, condition, or in any other respect so superior to those in the interior of the container or subcontainer or in the unexposed portion as to materially misrepresent the contents. Such pack is deceptive if the outer or exposed surface is composed of products whose size is not an accurate representation of the variation of size of the products in the entire container, even though the fruits, nuts, or vegetables in the container are virtually uniform in size or comply with the specific commodity size variation requirements of this part. (Enacted by Stats. 1967, Ch. 15.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

deceptive packcontainersubcontainermaterially misrepresentsize variation requirements

Related Statutes

  • § 27509 Egg Deception Definition
  • § 27639 Egg Inspection Refusal Prohibited
  • § 27517 Egg Labeling Misrepresentation
  • § 27520 Container Within Container Definition
  • § 29011 Beehive Definition

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Food and Agricultural Code. Section 42509.
View Official Source