21 CFR Part 211 · Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Finished Pharmaceuticals

§ 211.130 Packaging and labeling operations

Subpart G - Packaging and Labeling Control Official text on eCFR Amendment history

There shall be written procedures designed to assure that correct labels, labeling, and packaging materials are used for drug products; such written procedures shall be followed. These procedures shall incorporate the following features:

(a) Prevention of mixups and cross-contamination by physical or spatial separation from operations on other drug products.

(b) Identification and handling of filled drug product containers that are set aside and held in unlabeled condition for future labeling operations to preclude mislabeling of individual containers, lots, or portions of lots. Identification need not be applied to each individual container but shall be sufficient to determine name, strength, quantity of contents, and lot or control number of each container.

(c) Identification of the drug product with a lot or control number that permits determination of the history of the manufacture and control of the batch.

(d) Examination of packaging and labeling materials for suitability and correctness before packaging operations, and documentation of such examination in the batch production record.

(e) Inspection of the packaging and labeling facilities immediately before use to assure that all drug products have been removed from previous operations. Inspection shall also be made to assure that packaging and labeling materials not suitable for subsequent operations have been removed. Results of inspection shall be documented in the batch production records.

Independent copy, not an official legal edition. 21 CFR is a U.S. Government work in the public domain; this text comes from the eCFR and the annual CFR edition, and may lag recent amendments. The authoritative version is on ecfr.gov. Compliome is not affiliated with or endorsed by FDA. Not legal advice.

What FDA inspectors cite under § 211.130

Form FDA 483 observations citing this section, fiscal years 2009–2026 (Drugs).

  • Procedures are written, and followed 142
  • Lot or control number assigned 56
  • Examination of packaging and labeling 33
  • Packaging line inspection before use 32
  • Prevention of cross contamination, mix-ups 29
  • Unlabeled filled containers controls 24

Warning letters citing § 211.130

13 FDA warning letters since 2017 cite this section ; the most recent:

FDA guidance that cites § 211.130

Amendment history

Federal Register documents that created or amended this section.