---
kind: "section"
citation: "16 C.F.R. § 260.9"
title: "16"
number: "260.9"
heading: "Free-of claims."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/16/260.9"
---

# §260.9. Free-of claims.

- (a) It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product, package, or service is free of, or does not contain or use, a substance. Such claims should be clearly and prominently qualified to the extent necessary to avoid deception.
- (b) A truthful claim that a product, package, or service is free of, or does not contain or use, a substance may nevertheless be deceptive if:
  - (1) The product, package, or service contains or uses substances that pose the same or similar environmental risks as the substance that is not present; or
  - (2) **The substance has not been associated with the product category.**
- (c) Depending on the context, a free-of or does-not-contain claim is appropriate even for a product, package, or service that contains or uses a trace amount of a substance if:
  - (1) The level of the specified substance is no more than that which would be found as an acknowledged trace contaminant or background level 47 ;
  - (2) The substance's presence does not cause material harm that consumers typically associate with that substance; and
  - (3) **The substance has not been added intentionally to the product.**

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41-58.

### Source

Source: 77 FR 62124, Oct. 11, 2012, unless otherwise noted.