Sentence:  The Department's main priorities have been goods sold loose — apples or herrings, to take two incompatible examples— and what are known as "<WSD>catchweight</WSD>" items. These are prepackaged products — cheese is one that immediately springs to mind — that by their nature are not normally made up in predetermined standard quantities. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Having no standard weight, but rather having weight determined when packaged for sale or shipping.