Consumer protection laws

Consumer protection laws, laws as they relate to consumer protection. Some landmarks of legislation in the field include The Pure Food and Drug Act (1906), prohibiting mislabeling of the contents of food, liquor, and medicine; the Agricultural Meat Inspection Act (1907), providing for federal inspection of meat-packing plants engaged in interstate shipment of meat; the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938), strengthening food labeling requirements and extending controls over advertising and labeling; the Child Protection Act (1966), followed by the Toy Safety Act, assuring that toys are not poisonous, flammable, or potentially hazardous in other ways; the Consumer Credit Protection Act (1968), requiring lenders to disclose the true annual interest rate on loans and prohibiting businesses from sending credit cards to persons who do not order them; and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (1972), protecting consumers from dangerous, faulty, or misleading products, and requiring companies to inform and educate consumers about the safe use of products. All states and many cities and counties have agencies that deal with consumer complaints.