Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN GROVER SELLERS
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Ronorrble Nlter T. YoKay, ahlbi
Div. rrorhh. Tmp. k 2ttarm0lns8
TQ~we~Degpa~nt of A(krloulttLm
Dear 81rt 8hippinR; fttttglOid0~ tit.3 T0XaS at& oO%pljt A 6mufa6toxW
11th
both the *tot+ aad Fedor& prori~lono though tM language >f etatetor ia elimrb ldrnt~081, 8 diifOrOn00 in 0plnlOn baa two jurfsdiotloo~ es 80 the applloation 0r bhwfsn wioon Ibove quoted st(rtutsr labding of produat8 ooatatnlng oer- ;ala "indefinite" ooapouada of OOPPOF~ You bnib with your to- 'uort ae:taln lnforsstion end oozrospondonoe rhloh fully develops ,ha ooatrovor5y rad it is there diseloaad that thie varhtoe in Tinion baa rorulted fn aopu m8nUfaOtPTOrOI ubo dasirm ooqfy in the e*kwead !ith both 3tate and .Fetleral prov~rionr , belt&? pleoed having their produot bsrmd rroa Taxer unless position they oompl~ with the Tore8 interpretation and bslw prore- outed Sor mlrbrandlng under tb0 ?‘rderal ii they do. rtatute
That dlffonnt and oontll.atlng lntrrprotationr ot praotlarlly ideatloal rtatutovy provlrloas rtie0ti.n~ ooaueroe bet-en the state8 18ads dirrstsow radulta oannot be dlr- puted. .Thlr in rttretrd by the nmny rgrnaler at work vhlob seek to iron out th e trede Barrier0 aong Otah8,ot the 3nlon.
It must be oonoludcd that tbo Texas Leplalatum hrd in alnd tbe lrpportanoe of unirormlty when it borrwed heavily from Riders1 Aot of 1910 in pssring the ‘hrsa Aot of 1943 -blah ia rell reoo&zed regulata8 these matter@. furtbrrmom, lt oonrtruotlon r0er-a one juri6dlotlon adopts rule of Strtutory tbt a rtatute from enother it la al80 pmruzed to have adopted the exlrtlng judloial oonrtruotlon unlurr mob oonrtzuotion is a~lalnst rottson or the wright oi authority. An aotablish d l dalnirtratln, oow3truotlon or 1089 witight but ie at least par8uaslrr me6 it the le~l8lrtum to adopt the omstruustion @low *ltb intended Sutherlan4, Statutory Conatruotion, (3rd. Sa.1, Vol. e, otatute.
500. SE09, p. 581, !3ea. 6106, pe 818.
It rpparru tttet rlnw 1918 Pederel outhorltlea hew, In lnitenm or the #o-called 'lndeilnite" oopper OOapOUndO, per- ?Plttad the use ot suoh lsbelr as iOllOWlKi#$t
CCiWS b G'JXPOt3lD COPIPER AS XiTALLfD % ?%>ZiT IfiG ZD IZ??P3 9 This praotloe orl&*ted xith mIzmeotlolde Ce~tilon Ea. 6” of tba Onitcrd State6 Oapartraat ot Agrioulturs, laousd Psbruory 11?, 1912 lnvblvln(I 0ordeaor E?lxtum, one of tbe*‘ln- derlnlte* oocqPouna8, rnd it ~a8 than rbsted,
*smo unaertrlnty ap per r o to l xl8t via t& aiads of saesnufaoturw8 and rblpperr oi lkwdeeux mixture
prate dry Badeour iairtu??m OOQOOr5iQR method thb &arI lagrnd1wlta, xblab abould be e~1o)m-l trt or both the rotlve and InrrC ingO lenta In thrre pro- duotr as requlmd by tbe law. PbO departneat, therefore, it Aeslreble ntate it8 position on tbir sub- oonelden jdot for lntorma$lon oi tbo trade.
xon. tialter T. Y*Kay, page 3
*It is a well-a~tabllrbed fsot that the fungioldsl propo;%lar Bordeaux Prlrturo are dspmdrnt upcrn the oopper present in thir mixture. The other aubekmoee, 8uah e8 lime en d water, are necemary but not rotire ingredientr, end these rltb magnesia varlour other iaorenio oompounbr rhfoh my bo prwent, are inerO, &toe they do aob oi thenrelrer poosorr fungloidal If l eea8 olear, bherrfore, thet propertire. rlthln the Pllraalng of the iamotloida rot of 1910 tM sotal, oopper, aotln end oth er l ubrtrnow present la the laqedirat axe to be regm3le4 a0 inert.* following tbi8 ruling, a label 8bowlng the paroentage ot oopper expresmd 88 raetalllo, together with a rtatekent OS other lngredlents l e inert, hau been gemrally to u. s. socoptable there of other l tatel, I euthorltuer, and apparently to Texas until I Cieptenber 1944. Kcwa+or, our State Cheairt has re-ereained or this method OS labelllng thdae ooagoundr end hea oorraotnerr ooaoluded thet a label lo the following form stould be re++&e&m~~ --‘f
CGF-Pa B’U0”9PCLrn BASE UOPPojl SVFLEATB 2 COPi’BR A.3 WPALZ 12
It 18 our oheallst’a oontentlon that the above label lr required by etstutes, beaeuse, (1) *Inseotlalde l’woialon No. 6* erroaeourly dsolarsr that aetaUla oopper ls tbe aotire in thla type of tunglolde; (2) the so-called ingredient ~indeflnite~ are not so ln4erlnite e Sormrly aopper 00rsp0uaa0 8uppoaed and that the nase of the oopper bowing ooq~owl, to- gether with the paroentai@ theroot aontelnub mkture .may ba #peali with enough oertalaty to be of reotloal UM to pur- ; (3) slnos toot8 f 110 oopper la adzl,ttedly eo;fliaserrabsrr oharerr not present as mob In these produota an4 the iungloldal proper- tier exist in a compound OS oopper rather thaa in mrtalllo ooppar, the preset ktlorrlly rppro+ed lebel 18 Hatuallp mlsleadlng sad erroneous, both otlve in4 inert lngredlentr end percentage@ thereof.
L *4 t. UoKay, ~680 4
Ron. 3alter
8nb orrtrln manut3oturer8 asten8 the label mu in aae boaauao of, (1) aalforaity ana lonu well reoo&rad u8agal (a) the rler that the pararntsga of aetelllo 18 the only l table end oopplr rhleb :keae tuoaiolde8 will dOfiait6 faefm rhloh say k l peOlf o l b out thrn and thlr rurofrhes the sort rellablo lniorutlan to tk puroharor (J) l $ kmpC to epeeiQ l derloite peroeatrge oi an * 1 n- QOr~nitV OoElpOMd tr otid l otuoll~ ai8l.re& and l ubjaot tha E%aAU- to zi8bflitlra for nimbrwuUn(l. faoturor
m tbti tha abow rtetnun8 or vlawpoint8 relaar WoatiOA8 Or Oheat r8Ot ralher thaII qUeatiOA8 Or iau t3Ad PO era neither qaallfled nor ,la it our fuaotlon to paer upfm th8 8bveoate8 of both typeo or lebelr NO& qo*etlonB. nowrer l ba t0 ba la l beknttii (1) That a@eamit u,poa thc80 pointer revant fraud on the puroha8er and the purpow ot law 18 to the sarigl of reliaue P abel iaioraution whlah mry be re- tk8t qulrod thareun&er will 8erw this purpoa4; (0) that in beet the praentigo asWat of smallla the produot say 4?ont aopper nil1 yield 8boalb bm set lath am tba moat mllablo lndiole of the Quality of the produotr (3) W&at it la deairrble to epealfp the owpound In tiloh oopger $8 present, nbero poaaibh, though an *lnder1a1te* oo~pund iB iA*Ohed baasuse SuQh iAfOPW3tiOA plould be uaaful tha purahawr cad l epsaiellg to Jwaaroherw, end (4) the l o-oatled wlndeSlniti* o@pounda of ooppsr ore to 842~ cutoat ladtrftalte 8truotnrr and that rap atlgn- btioa oi the peroentaer of 8ueb ooapaand oontalnsd in e mlx- to 43oatal.n aoae error4 xture likely
In the light of th* er@meata pro 000 060 on thla mtta yoo bar* propounde8 the follonin~ cu4atlona to u4:
-1. Do08 rtatesasat of psroaato@ oi aoppar es net&l!lo, or a #lallrr wet atatewnt of thm lb38 lam ?or t ho maws md er- rsguimmarrtr bar i ad omtega ~otmta of l esh every lagodlent enb rttn8ioia81
~aeotloldd progsrtle83 .*I!. Does thr rtatazmt of naw of tlm 401x- pfka haTln& ruogloldal properties 8na the peroesrt88a oopper it furnlaher, met the nqulr~~ent8 of tha Texas law ror new8 l aa p*romtags amount8 of *aoh ad erory iAgF*dteAt hVhl& tUA(l1Otidel end ln8~Otldlbl rould be, for ra.xpler- ::uoh lebel prqertier?
.c 3on. xslt0r P. XoEsy, pee* b
*Coppcrr eqmsaa36 66 3mtelllo 27s Wote 6lfferoaao in gsroante@ of inert ingedlantr 68 fflrea in Fo. 2 3nC 36. 3.
-?e Bltrrsts the cueatlonr put to u8 brpon0 prl~rll~ on P 6otarmlaotlqa of ohodoal faot apon rhloh we do not unilurtskm trl pass. Eonever, on tbe bssla of tho ln- iorsatlon upon rtloh tho pertlss sgrewwnt it sums are 0144r to us $11 thrso of tbo labels sugpstad in your aom deproo beoeuso of ttm cuorPio~8 rould br fnscoumte phyeiosl uaoortalnty of the oo~oun&~ dsrlt rich. Although ststuto makar m xaeptioa th0 @wrala# In favor 02 thouo *:aoapounds, aa do kaom that a statute oannot ‘lndsflnite” “Trs law aWe oortsln rrbfoh 1s by nature uncrrtrin.
rsculrr8 nothlq lPgasrlblr.C Eromi, :.?nr. 248. Taklag this into eoooant,ro do not rt:ompt anmwr your -2ueuertlolu oete- gorlos1ly but wo sru of the oplalon thet any one of tha thno lsbolr wbsitted aould met thr roqulnnrsnts ot the Tour lsm
F!on . 31t4r 1. %o!oKay, pogo 6
if suob SD interpretation bo adopted by the Texas Department of dgrloulturs tor thr mason that saoh type of label 80~~~8 bore subSt4ntisl migport by soar rospeotrble obodl~issl euthor- ity . Roth Ststa and P e d8rsl l pnoler 804% to k in sgrroa4ot fho lsbsl sot forth in aurotlou Ho. 2 would be mom ds& slrable thsn ttmt now la us4 but of oourao, ,arlght to bo giran oon814or8tiolsoi unitomit, an triodly msttsr8 of polloy for dstamhstlon by tour depsrtmat.
Ia olwing, we rould 1lk.r add thl8 rdditlonel cosm%nt : 30 do not wlah to bo understo od l a holding tbst s doo~sion or adPlinlstretlss ruling lnvolvfng the find- ing of a solsntlflo hot forsoloms another or later latsr- pretstion baaed on latrr solsntlflo disoooery or sdronoemnt. ?urthemxore, 7.0 should like to point out that no amauf8oturer would bo justified in non-oompllsnos with a stetuts rtgu1atl.q the labeling of his produot mraly bsoruao oosq?llsass rrl$ht dlsolose trsda searet. Sea T?ultsd Stats8 v. Thirty Dosen F8oka~48 oi ??oeoh Food, ZQe I4d. 271.
To ars r~etnrnl~ hsrowlth tho xhlblts r8taohwd to your request sad xb hopa our ri~rs ~111 be of soso benefit to you.
u Xage&e Alrir Assistant