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Method of sale regulations
In general
Meat, poultry, fish & seafood
Ready-to-eat food
More Information
In general
Method of sale regulations ensure that consumers have the opportunity to make informed decisions when making purchases. Fair competition is also maintained by requiring that all retail stores use the same method.

General method of sale
In general, commodities must be sold by
  • Weight if the commodity is solid, semisolid, viscous, or a mixture of solid and liquid.
  • Liquid measure if the commidity is liquid.
  • Dry measure if the commodity is dry.
  • Numerical count in some instances.

Customary practices
If there is a firmly established general consumer usage or trade custom with respect to how a commodity is sold, the commodity may be sold in its traditional method as long as the consumer is still provided with adequate quantity information. Any net content statement that does not permit price and quantity comparisons is forbidden.
 

Method of sale for specific products
Oregon adopts the method of sale regulations in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook 130. For a detailed explanation of the method of sale for specific products, please see NIST Handbook 130.

Meat, poultry, fish & seafood
Meat, poultry, fish and seafood must be sold by weight
All meat, poultry, fish and seafood exposed for sale as food, shall be sold, offered or exposed for sale by weight.
 
Products containing meat, poultry, fish and seafood that are sold for immediate consumption on the premises where sold and/or are a part of a ready-to-eat meal are not required to be sold by weight.

Ready-to-eat food
What is ready-to-eat food?
Ready-to-eat food is food offered or exposed for sale without additional cooking or preparation, which is packaged on the premises where sold and is ready for consumption.
 
This does not include sliced luncheon products, such as meat, poultry, or cheese when sold separately.

Method of sale for ready-to-eat food
Ready-to-eat food may be sold by weight, measure, or count (count includes servings) as long as
  1. if it is offered by count or measure when this method is not customary, it shall be offered for sale in areas of the establishment where customers would expect to find ready-to-eat food (e.g., deli), and
  2. if offered for sale near similar products packaged off of the premises, the ready-to-eat foods shall be sold by the same method of sale as the similar products.

More Information

 
Page updated: April 08, 2009

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