Article 6. Labels of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 15. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 6.

Any person or association or corporation engaged in the manufacture, sale, or distribution of products resembling milk products shall label such products in accordance with the provisions of this article and with regulations which shall be adopted by the director. The labels may be submitted to the director for approval.

Each container which contains a product resembling a milk product, shall be labeled with the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor, and in the event the address is not the address of the manufacturer or final packaging plant, the label shall include the national uniform federal information processing standards state code number to be immediately followed by a hyphen and the plant number assigned by the appropriate state regulatory agency. The list of ingredients of any product resembling a milk product shall be immediately preceded by the product name, such as "Imitation ____," "Nondairy Product," "Filled Product," or any other applicable term the director has established for the products by regulation. In addition, the director may, by regulation, require any other information to be included on the label which the director determines to be in the public interest.

Any product labeled as a "nondairy product" and containing one or more ingredients derived from milk shall clearly indicate upon such label, in a manner established by the director through regulation, which ingredients are milk derivatives.

An imitation milk product, the composition and physical characteristics of which closely resemble those of a milk product or a specified variety of a milk product may be labeled "imitation," followed by the name of the milk product imitated; for example, "imitation milk," "imitation coffee cream," "imitation cheddar cheese." An imitation milk product, the composition and physical characteristics of which do not closely resemble those of a milk product or a defined variety of a milk product shall be labeled as "imitation" or "filled" or by any other term approved by the director, followed by a term which generally describes that category of milk product; for example, "imitation milk product," "imitation cream product," "imitation cheese product."

Labels or products resembling milk products may contain references and comparisons of the products with milk products as long as such statements are reasonable, relevant, truthful, complete, and not deceptive or misleading. The director may require satisfactory proof of the compliance of any statement with the provisions of this section.

On the labels of imitation milk products the use of pictures and symbols depicting dairy or agricultural activities, or associating the product with such activities, and use of dairy or agricultural terms or words, or derivations or cognates thereof, shall be subject to restriction or prohibition by the director by regulation. The basis for such regulations shall be the degree to which such symbols or words make or fail to make a significant contribution to a truthful and complete representation of the product, or appear to be likely to be deceptive and misleading to the purchaser.

Nondairy product containers and labels shall not contain any combination of words, symbols, marks, designs, or representations commonly used or associated with the sale, advertising, or distribution of milk products. The labels shall not contain statements regarding milk products except those permitted by Section 38954 and any necessary factual statement regarding any ingredient milk products.