This guide clears a food label and defends a food labeling claim. It begins with the enforcement structure that explains the field — no private federal right of action, private enforcement through state deception law, and a preemption provision that determines which of those claims survive. It works through misbranding, standards of identity, and the claim classification that determines the applicable rule for every element on a package. It covers the preemption analysis in detail, the undefined terms that generate most litigation, and the organic certification apparatus that shows what a defensible claim looks like. Separate sections address the meat and poultry regime with its prior approval and broader preemption, production-standard statutes, competitor suits under the false advertising provision, compelled disclosure limits, the nine-step label clearance sequence, the fact patterns that actually get sued, and the substantiation file that must exist before shipping.