Missouri Bill on Slack Fill Introduced

A Missouri state senator has introduced a bill that would deem product containers not misleading for including some slack fill if they meet one of fifteen criteria. The criteria that would allow a container to be “filled to less than its capacity” include (i) for protection of the contents; (ii) compliance with reasonable industry standards; (iii) settling of the contents during handling; (iv) a specific function of a package, such as where the packaging plays a role in the preparation or consumption of the product; (v) inability to increase the level of fill or reduce the size of the package; or (vi) the provision of significant value independent of the packaging’s function of holding the product, such as gift packaging or a container provided for reuse.