The Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent federal agency and has authority over false, deceptive, and unfair marketing of consumer goods, including food.[1] The FTC and FDA divided the responsibility over food marketing pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding, under which the FDA has primary authority to regulate food labels and the FTC has primary responsibility for food advertising via all other media.[2]
The FTC operates pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission Act, enacted in 1914. Most federal agencies may engage in Administrative Procedures Act rulemaking as a matter of course, but Section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act imposes additional rulemaking requirements on the FTC that make it very difficult and time-consuming for the agency if it seeks to enact a regulation.[3] Rather than engage in rulemaking, the FTC frequently brings individual cases against entities that violate the FTC Act. The FTC has more authority to address individual transgressions than the FDA. For example, unlike the FDA, the FTC does have the authority to require that food companies turn over documents substantiating a health or nutrition-related claim in advertising material, called “substantiation documents.” The FTC also may issue civil monetary fines, although it usually settles its cases without fining the offenders. The FTC’s regulation of food marketing is discussed further in Chapter 7.
- [1] 15 USCS §45.
- [2] Federal Trade Commission. Enforcement Policy Statement on Food Advertising. May 1994.http://www.ftc.gov/enforcement-policy-statement-on-food-advertising.
- [3] J. Pomeranz. Federal Trade Commission’s Authority to Regulate Marketing toChildren: Deceptive vs. Unfair Rulemaking. Health Matrix: Journal of Law Medicine.2011;21:521.
