Administrative Law: Food Safety and Labeling
Administrative law is the body of constitutional, statutory, and common law principles that both constrain and seek to legitimize the exercise of powers by governmental agencies. The history of food safety and labeling regulations in the United States begins in the late 1800s and continues through present day, culminating recently in the 2011 enactment of the Food Safety Modernization Act, which creates a new system of federal oversight of domestically produced and imported food products. This course introduces students to the essential elements of administrative law and follows the basic structure of an administrative law course, but diverges from the traditional study by using cases and problems that are specific to food safety and food labeling issues in the United States. The primary goal of the class is to provide students with knowledge of the fundamental administrative law principles applied in matters involving the regulation of food and food products, and the ability to apply these principles to problems similar to those encountered in actual practice. To the extent possible, this class will be taught from a practice-oriented approach, requiring students to engage in problem-solving exercises online.Students who have taken Administrative Law (532) may not take this course.