Only allows unpackaged meat, poultry and edible fish to be sold at retail by weight, which is determined at the time of sale. When a consumer buys a raw piece of fish, for example, and wants a certain size portion, that particular piece of fish must be cut and weighed by the store employee at the time of the sale.
Would change current law to allow these items to continue to be sold for sale by weight but ALSO allow them to be sold by the piece or portion, as long as all those pieces of fish, meat or poultry are all the same minimum weight and offered for sale at the same pre-determined fixed weight and price.
For example, H376 would allow for sale a tray of 4 0z. salmon pieces all priced at $4.99. As required by present law, the product NAME (salmon) and NET WEIGHT (4 oz.) would continue to be displayed, as well as the UNIT PRICE (the price per pound – 16 oz. equals $19.96/lb.) and ITEM PRICE ($4.99 apiece) for which each equally weighed item is offered for sale. A grocery store would be allowed to precut and weigh like pieces of fish, allowing customers to choose from a selection of uniform priced and weighed fish servings (i.e., all 4 oz. pieces of salmon at $4.99). This amendment gives consumers the choice of selecting a particular piece of food that is either previously weighed, and/or weighed in person at the time of sale for a different size portion.
BACKGROUND
Price disclosure and accuracy laws for food stores and food departments are regulated by the MA Division of Standards. As far back as 2014, the MA Division of Standards allowed food stores/departments to sell such items by the piece, as long as the disclosures mentioned above in the amendment were visible to the customer.
The Division of Standards reversed its allowance for the manner of sale of such items in 2019 under a new, more narrow interpretation of their regulations.
This amendment would simply codify this procedure and once again allow for sales by-the-piece under law rather than through interpretation. The proposed amendment comes directly from the latest U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards & Technology’s Uniform Laws and Regulations Handbook 130 allowing such sales. This method of sale is used in a majority other states as allowed by this handbook, which has been adopted by all states, counties and municipalities for use of uniform price and weight disclosure, including Massachusetts.
