The definition

Deemed a food

On this page13

The clause Which is a wide deeming Two exceptions are stated So food packaging rules are in play And a supplement label is its own regime The deeming does not resolve the ingredient It also does not reach state law Which is why the scope note on these pages is long What transfers is the structure Two exceptions and a long chapter And a container decision follows from it The rest is a determination References

A dietary supplement is deemed to be a food. With two stated exceptions.

The clause

"Except for purposes of paragraph (g) and section 350f of this title, a dietary supplement shall be deemed to be a food within the meaning of this chapter."

Which is a wide deeming

The chapter is long, and being deemed a food inside it means the food provisions reach the product unless something says otherwise.

Two exceptions are stated

Paragraph (g), which is the drug definition, and one further cross reference. Those are the carve-outs and everything else follows the food route.

So food packaging rules are in play

Which is the practical consequence for a container. The food contact questions covered in the prepared food property are the same questions here, and they are about the resin rather than the cleanliness.

And a supplement label is its own regime

Supplement Facts rather than Nutrition Facts, which is a different panel with different rules. That is the supplements properties, not this one.

The deeming does not resolve the ingredient

Being a food within the meaning of the chapter says nothing about whether a particular botanical may be in it. That is still the 1994 gate.

It also does not reach state law

Several of the botanicals in this group are treated differently from state to state, and nothing in this federal definition changes that.

Which is why the scope note on these pages is long

A container catalog that implied a federal all-clear would be doing real damage in a category where the answer varies by ingredient and by jurisdiction.

What transfers is the structure

Label as an element, ingredient behind a date, and a deeming clause that pulls the food rules in. That structure is worth knowing and it is all quoted here.

Two exceptions and a long chapter

The carve-outs are narrow and the deeming is wide, which means the default is that food provisions apply. Working from the assumption that they do not is the wrong way round.

And a container decision follows from it

Food contact is a resin question rather than a cleanliness question, which the prepared food property covers. On this shelf that means 66 PP and 31 glass out of 97 containers, and the resin is the thing to confirm.

The rest is a determination

Per ingredient, from records, and not from us.

References

21 U.S.C. 321(ff)(2), part of the definition of dietary supplement, requiring a product that "(A)(i) is intended for ingestion in a form described in section 350(c)(1)(B)(i) of this title; or (ii) complies with section 350(c)(1)(B)(ii) of this title; (B) is not represented for use as a conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or the diet; and (C) is labeled as a dietary supplement". The concluding text of (ff) reads "Except for purposes of paragraph (g) and section 350f of this title, a dietary supplement shall be deemed to be a food within the meaning of this chapter." law.cornell.edu

Nothing in this property states whether any particular botanical is a lawful dietary ingredient, a new dietary ingredient, adulterated or saleable. Those are per-ingredient determinations, federal agencies have taken positions on several of the botanicals named here which this property does not summarize or characterize, and state law differs from federal law and from state to state. Dosage, preparation and effect are also outside it.

Written from 21 U.S.C. 321(ff) and 21 U.S.C. 350b and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Nothing here says whether any particular botanical is a lawful dietary ingredient, a new dietary ingredient or saleable: those are per-ingredient determinations, federal agencies have taken positions on several of these which this property does not summarize, and state law differs. Availability and stock figures are a single snapshot rather than a trend. The shipping weight field on this shelf reaches 2,002 lb, which is a case weight in a unit field, so do not rely on it.