In this episode we re-argue the Supreme Court case United States v. 95 Barrels, More or Less, Alleged Apple Cider Vinegar, Douglas Packing Company, Claimant.
The Douglas Packing Company is selling a product that they have labeled as apple cider vinegar. However, the feds have an issue with the fact that sometimes the company presses fresh apples, and at other times they press dehydrated and rehydrated apples without informing consumers of the difference. Does this still count as “apple cider vinegar”? Neither the company, the feds, nor the lower courts can agree.
The question before the court: was the apple cider vinegar misbranded under the provisions of the Pure Food and Drug Act?
References
Curtis, P.A., Steinberg, E.L., Parisi, M.A., & Northcutt, J.K. (2013). How did we get where we are today? In P.A. Curtis (Ed.), Guide to U.S. food laws and regulations (2nd ed., pp. 23-53). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118227763.ch2
Guiné, R.P.F., Barroca, M.J., Coldea, T.E., Bartkiene, E., & Anjos, O. (2021). Apple fermented products: An overview of technology, properties, and health effects. Processes, 9(2), 223. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9020223
Meijer, N., Tilkin-Franssens, N., & van der Meulen, B. (2015). Eleven decades of US American federal food law: How the FDA acquired its statutory powers. European Food and Feed Law Review, 10(6), 433-441.
Ninety-Five Barrels, More or Less, Apple Cider Vinegar v. United States, 289 Fed. 181. (6th Cir. 1923).
United States v. 95 Barrels of Vinegar, 265 US 438 (1924).