Use of Color on Pharmaceutical Product Labels, Labeling and Packaging; Public Hearing

Résumé

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public hearing on the current practice of applying color to pharmaceutical product packaging and labeling to help identify, classify, and differentiate those drug products. To date, there is little scientific evidence that applying color is effective in reducing medication errors. Furthermore, there is no validated scientific method to corroborate the benefits of using colors on pharmaceuticals in this fashion. FDA does not have a policy pertaining to the use of colors on drug product packaging. The purpose of the hearing is to obtain public input on the benefits and potential drawbacks of applying color to drug packaging and labeling to help identify, classify, or differentiate those products.