Rhode Island General Laws Title 21. Food and Drugs § 21-31-10. Adulterated food

(1) If: (i) it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health; but in case the substance is not an added substance the food shall not be considered adulterated under this clause if the quantity of that substance in the food does not ordinarily render it injurious to health; (ii) it bears or contains any added poisonous or added deleterious substance which is unsafe within the meaning of § 21-31-13; (iii) it consists in whole or in part of a diseased, contaminated, filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance, or if it is unfit for food; (iv) it has been produced, prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary conditions by which it may have become contaminated with filth, or by which it may have been rendered diseased, unwholesome, or injurious to health; (v) it is the product of a diseased animal or an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter, or that has been fed upon the uncooked offal from a slaughterhouse; or (vi) its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health.

(2) If: (i) any valuable constituent has been in whole or in part omitted or abstracted from it; (ii) any substance has been substituted wholly or in part for it; (iii) damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner; or (iv) any substance has been added to it or mixed or packed with it so as to increase its bulk or weight or reduce its quality or strength or make it appear better or of greater value than it is.

(3) If it is confectionery and it bears or contains any alcohol or non-nutritive article or substance except harmless coloring, harmless flavoring, harmless resinous glaze not in excess of four-tenths of one percent (0.4%), harmless natural wax not in excess of four-tenths of one percent (0.4%), harmless natural gum, or pectin; provided, that this subdivision shall not apply to any confectionery by reason of its containing less than one-half of one percent (.5%) by volume of alcohol derived solely from the use of flavoring extracts, or to any chewing gum by reason of its containing harmless non-nutritive masticatory substances.

(4) If it bears or contains a coal-tar color other than one from a batch which has been certified under authority of the Federal Act.