Download Chapter 045- Consumer Protection

Chapter 44
Consumer Protection
and Product Safety
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Meat and Related Products Safety
 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
 Responsible for regulating meat, poultry, and other
food products
 Can initiate legal proceedings against violators
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Case 44.1: Adulterated Food
 Case
 United States of America v. LaGrou Distribution
Systems, Incorporated
 466 F.3d 585, Web 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 25986 (2006)
 United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
 Issue
 Has LaGrou knowingly engaged in the improper
storage of meat, poultry, and other food products,
in violation of federal food safety laws?
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Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics Safety
 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA):
 Provides the basis for the regulation of much of the
testing, manufacture, distribution, and sale of
foods, drugs, cosmetics, and medicinal products
 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
 Federal administrative agency that administers and
enforces the FDCA
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Regulation of Food
 The FDCA prohibits
 shipment, distribution, or sale of adulterated food
 false and misleading labeling of food products
 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA): A
federal statute that requires food manufacturers to
disclose on food labels nutritional information about
the food
 Requires the disclosure of uniform information
about serving sizes and nutrients
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Regulation of Drugs
 Drug Amendment to the FDCA
 Empowers the FDA to license new drugs
 Manufacturer must provide adequate warnings,
directions for use
 May revoke approval of previously licensed drugs
 Prohibits adulterated, misbranded drugs
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Regulation of Cosmetics
 FDA requirements for cosmetics:
 Proper labeling
 Disclosure of ingredients
 Display of warnings if carcinogenic
 Adulterated or misbranded cosmetics are prohibited
 FDA may remove from commerce cosmetics that
contain unsubstantiated claims
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Regulation of Medicinal Devices
 Medicinal Device Amendment: Gives the FDA
authority to regulate medicinal devices, such as heart
pacemakers, kidney dialysis machines, defibrillators,
surgical equipment, etc.
 Mislabeling of medicinal devices is prohibited
 FDA is empowered to remove “quack” devices from
the market
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Product and Automobile Safety
 Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA): A federal
statute that regulates potentially dangerous consumer
products and that created the Consumer Product
Safety Commission
 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):
An independent federal administrative agency
empowered to
 adopt rules and regulations to interpret and enforce
the CPSA
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Product and Automobile Safety
 conduct research on the safety of consumer
products
 collect data regarding injuries caused by consumer
products
 issue product safety standards on consumer
products
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Medical and Health Care Protection
 Health Care Reform Act: A 2010 federal statute that
 increases the number of persons who have health
care insurance in the United States
 provides new protections for insured persons from
abusive practices of insurance companies
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Unfair and Deceptive Practices
 The Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act)
prohibits unfair and deceptive practices including:
 False and deceptive advertising
 Bait and switch
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False and Deceptive Advertising
 Advertising is false and deceptive under Section 5 of
the FTC Act if it
 contains misinformation or omits important
information that is likely to mislead a “reasonable
consumer”
 makes an unsubstantiated claim
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Bait and Switch
 Seller advertises low-cost merchandise to attract
customers
 Seller pressures buyers to upgrade
 Refuses to show advertised merchandise
 Discourages employees from selling advertised
merchandise
 Fails to have adequate quantities of advertised
merchandise
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Door-to-Door Sales
 Many states permit consumers to rescind contracts
made with door-to-door sales representatives within a
set period after signing the contract
 FTC requires salesperson to permit cancellation as
specified
 Consumer must send required notice of cancellation
to seller
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Do-Not-Call Registry
 Do-Not-Call Registry: A register created by federal
law on which consumers can place their names and
free themselves from most unsolicited commercial
telephone calls
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