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ARTICLE · 22 OCTOBER 2013

California Cuts Manufacturers Some Slack

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

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Product Packaging, Slack Fill

United StatesConsumer Protection
Daniel Herling
Daniel Herling
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As this space has pointed out on several occasions, California's laws are nothing, if not unique.  One such law is California's Business & Professions Code Section 12606.2 which prohibits a container or package from having false bottoms, false sidewalls, a false lid or covering or to "facilitate the perpetration of deception or fraud".  A container that does not allow a consumer to fully view its contents violates the law if the container or package contains "non-functional slack-fill".

Slack fill is the difference between the actual capacity of a container and the volume of product contained therein.  CA B&P Code 12606.2(c).

The slack fill law makes sense when one experiences buying a bag of potato chips and the bag is mostly air.  These types of claims are often prosecuted by the County DA's office (usually in combination with the County's Weights and Measurements office) under CA's unfair Competition Law (CA B&PC 17200) and CA's False Advertising Law(CA B&PC

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