Armour & Co. v. North Dakota

Background

A large meat-packing company sold lard through a local branch in North Dakota. A state food official bought a pail labeled as a retail package that held two pounds six ounces, not a whole-pound amount. North Dakota law required lard sold in packages to be put up in one, three, or five pound net sizes (or whole multiples) and to show true net weight on the label. The company was charged, tried without a jury, convicted, and fined; it challenged the law as unfair and as interfering with interstate commerce.

Reasoning

The Court treated the requirement as a valid exercise of the State’s power to protect consumers and ensure honest weights. It accepted the legislature’s judgment that selling by gross weight can hide the true amount of lard and deceive buyers. The Court rejected the company’s claims that the law violated fairness or equal treatment and said the rule targeted retail sales, not interstate shipment, so it did not unlawfully burden commerce. The Court also found no conflict with the federal Pure Food and Drugs Act, because the state rule regulated how goods are sold at retail, not how they move in interstate commerce.

Real world impact

The decision lets states force packers to sell lard in the required net-pound packages or clearly show net weight, which may require changes in packing and labeling. Consumers should be better able to see the actual quantity and price apart from the container. The ruling enforces state retail labeling rules without overturning federal food laws.