Fair Hearing in Administrative Rule-Making: A Recent Experience Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic and Fair Packaging and Labeling Acts

In promulgating regulations to govern the labeling of foods under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, despite the objections of adversely affected parties, denied all requests for a public hearing. In this article the author reviews the hearing provisions of the Act, analyzes the position taken by the Food and Drug Administration, and concludes that the failure to grant a trial-type hearing on the labeling regulations was legally indefensible.