Declines to limit

The second half

On this page12

The construction clause It is a limit on the authority, not on the packager Size and shape are the obvious two Weight or mass is the third Dimensions is the fourth And number of packages is the fifth So three properties in this library now sit at three points Which is why the commodity matters more than the principle And a supplement sits in several at once And the clause is a construction rule, not a saving clause The practical reading References

"shall not be construed as authorizing any limitation"

The construction clause

But this paragraph shall not be construed as authorizing any limitation on the size, shape, weight or mass, dimensions, or number of packages which may be used to enclose any commodity.

It is a limit on the authority, not on the packager

Which is an unusual thing to find in a statute a packaging catalog would read. Most provisions here tell a packager what to do; this one tells an agency what it may not do.

Size and shape are the obvious two

No standard made under this paragraph can require a particular capacity or a particular form.

Weight or mass is the third

Which for a powder is the declared quantity. So the paragraph expressly declines to set standard fill weights.

Dimensions is the fourth

Height, diameter, footprint. We publish diameter on 152 of these containers and height on 161, and nothing made under this paragraph can constrain either.

And number of packages is the fifth

Which reaches the thing the concentrates property found a limit measured in: there, a federal figure was expressed per container. Here the paragraph declines any power over how many packages are used.

So three properties in this library now sit at three points

The cider rule restricts the fill to a list. The concentrates figure counts containers. This paragraph forecloses both kinds of limit for the commodities it covers.

Which is why the commodity matters more than the principle

There is no general federal stance on whether a container may be regulated. It depends entirely on which scheme reaches the product.

And a supplement sits in several at once

Deemed a food, labeled under the supplement rules, and a consumer commodity for the purposes of this statute.

And the clause is a construction rule, not a saving clause

Shall not be construed as authorizing. So it directs how the paragraph is read rather than carving an exception out of something it would otherwise reach.

The practical reading

Do not assume a container size is constrained, and do not assume it is free. Find the scheme first.

References

15 U.S.C. 1454(c)(1). The promulgating authority shall promulgate regulations effective to "establish and define standards for characterization of the size of a package enclosing any consumer commodity, which may be used to supplement the label statement of net quantity of contents of packages containing such commodity, but this paragraph shall not be construed as authorizing any limitation on the size, shape, weight or mass, dimensions, or number of packages which may be used to enclose any commodity;" The subsection is an authority to promulgate regulations rather than a packaging requirement in itself, and nothing here describes the content of any regulation made under it. law.cornell.edu

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. 461 rows: 171 containers and 290 closures, of which 389 rows are shared with the gummies and chews group and 72 are specific to this one. 100 to 3,000 mL with a median of 355: 25 at 237 mL, 24 at 473, 21 at 118, 14 at 946, 12 at 355, 11 at 177, 10 at 562, 9 at 739. 135 PET and 36 HDPE, with no glass. 133 jars, 37 bottles, 1 tub. Necks: 70 at 89-400 and 38 at 70-400, so 108 of 171 have a mouth of 70 mm or wider, then 12 at 53-400, 10 at 58-400, 5 each at 38MM and 110-400, 4 each at 100-400, 63-485 and 43MM. Diameter is published on 152 containers at 1.8 to 5.7 inches with a median of 3.56, and height on 161 at 1.48 to 9.99 inches with a median of 3.56. Closures: 195 continuous thread polypropylene lids, 38 metal or aluminum CT caps, 22 dome lids, 13 spice caps, 8 sealing discs, 3 round tub lids, 2 phenolic, 2 dairy lids, 2 flip top caps, 1 spice sifter disc, 1 tamper evident lid. Buyability, a snapshot: 100 of 171 available, 71 not; 71 quote only; 20 full case only, with case packs from 12 to 3,150 and a median of 245.

Written from 15 U.S.C. 1454(c) and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. That subsection authorizes regulations and is not itself a packaging requirement; nothing here describes the content of any regulation promulgated under it. Our capacity field is a volume and a powder is declared by weight, and we publish no bulk density, so the two cannot be reconciled from our data. Whether any ingredient in this group may be used is the new dietary ingredient question covered in the adjacent botanicals property and is not addressed here.