When there are no government standards, should we use “common understanding” as the standard for judging whether a certain label is deceptive?

Advocate: ✅

Manufacturer: ❌

The advocate’s position implies they think the answer is yes – their conclusion (that calling OJ fresh is deceptive) is based on fresh being used differently than it is commonly used.

The manufacturer says no.

Can truthful labeling practices that reflect common standard of usage be established by the government?

Advocate: ❓/ ✅

Manufacturer: ❓/ ✅

This statement receives roughly the same amount of support from both parties: strictly speaking they’re both silent.

We have some (very weak) indication that both parties think the answer is yes – they both mention government standards as a potentially relevant factor, so presumably they don’t think it’s impossible for the government to set various standards. This falls short of our typical MSS standard, though.

Is the term “fresh,” when applied to food products, commonly understood to mean pure and unprocessed?

Advocate: ✅

Manufacturer: ✅ / ❓

The advocate says yes.

The manufacturer’s response concedes this point. Even if “fresh” is commonly understood as pure and unprocessed, the manufacturer says, that doesn’t mean the labeling is deceptive.

Strictly speaking, the manufacturer isn’t locked in to a position on how “fresh” is commonly understood, but for the purposes of their argument the manufacturer essentially says “sure let’s say you’re right – it doesn’t matter.”

Can terms that apply to natural foods be truthfully applied to packaged foods?

Advocate: ❓

Manufacturer: ❓

Neither party draws any distinction between natural and packaged foods.

Will clear government standards for labeling food products ensure truthful labeling practices?

Advocate: ❓

Manufacturer: ❓/ ✅

The advocate is silent. They do agree with the inverse of this claim – without government standards we don’t have truthful labeling practices – but that’s not the same thing.

The advocate almost says yes but not quite. There’s a conceptual gap between complying with government standards and being truthful.