Regulatory Requirements for Fruits and Vegetables 

By Tom Coleman 

Questions have been raised by packers/shippers regarding product (i.e., berries, small 

fruits, vegetables) being exposed and offered for sale in clear* polyethylene bags. 

Industry and regulatory officials have requested guidance concerning packaging and 

labeling requirements and method of sale for product offered for sale in this manner. To 

assist weights and measures officials and industry in their interpretation of the packaging 

and labeling regulations, the following technical information is provided by the NIST 

WMD in conjunction with the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) interpretation of the 

exemption described in 21 CFR Part 100. Such exemption applies to grapes and similar 

products (i.e., berries, small fruits, and vegetables) that fall under FDA jurisdiction and 

meet the same criteria that exempts them from requirements under section 403 (e)(2) of 

the act, which applies to product during introduction and movement in interstate 

commerce and while held for sale prior to the weighing process. 

Retail Display – Polyethylene Produce Bags 

In NIST Handbook 130, the Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation (UPLR) 

defines “package” as any commodity “enclosed in a container or wrapped in any manner 

in advance of wholesale or retail sale.” Product that is wrapped (open-ended) or enclosed 

commodities (fully wrapped) are considered to be in package form, which requires a 

label. We must then look at the options for labeling the package. UPLR provides several 

alternatives for “labeling” in Section 2.5. Label. This section provides several options. 

One requires the information to “appear on the package” (i.e., embossed, attached to, 

blown into, affixed to, etc.). Another option permits the information to be “adjacent to” 

the product, such as in the case of “signage.” It is this second option that WMD believes 

suffices as the label. 

Further WMD believes that under Section 11. Exemptions, Section 11.26. also applies. 

Section 11.26., Commodities’ Variable Weights and Sizes states that individual packaged 

commodities put up in variable weights and sizes for sale intact, and intended to be 

weighed and marked with the correct quantity statement prior to or at the point of retail 

sale, are exempt from the requirements of UPLR Section 6 Declaration of Quantity: 

Consumer Packages. The key to Section 11.26. is that the product may be weighed and 

marked “at the point of retail sale.” It is WMD’s view (and one shared by the FDA) that 

the point of retail sale could be and is the check-out counter. 

WMD’s view is that Section 11.26. applies to this method of sale and would allow these 

“Commodities’ Variable Weights and Sizes” to be exempt from Section 6. Declaration of 

Quantity. Therefore, products such as broccoli, bananas, and grapes to name a few, may 

be offered for sale in a closed or open polyethylene bag as long as the commodity is 

properly labeled (signage would suffice) and would be weighed and marked with the 

correct quantity statement at the point of sale (check-out-counter) via the store receipt. It 

must be further noted that under Section 11. Exemptions, Section 11.26. only exempts 

Commodities Variable Weights and Sizes from UPLR Section 6. Declaration of Quantity: 
Consumer Packages. Declaration of Identity and Declaration of Responsibility would 

continue to apply. 

* WMD believes that product identifiers attached to “clear” polyethylene bags, such as a 

product look up code (PLU) or a Universal Product Code (UPC), would be acceptable. 

These identifiers would serve the same purpose as “identifiers” currently applied directly 

to produce items.