Consumer Affairs

Ready-to-Eat Foods at Grocery Stores
Information Sheet No. 10

Generally, packaged food items offered for sale in the city of Seattle are required to be sold by weight and to display labels with net weight declarations (Seattle Municipal Code, Section 7.04.200). There is an exemption for ready-to-eat food items or so-called "restaurant food". Ready-to-eat food items may be offered for sale without net weight labels. Examples of ready-to-eat food items include:

• single-serving packages of pastas, salads, vegetables, or rice
• cooked whole chickens or turkeys
• cooked ribs by the slab or piece
• buckets of cooked chicken or fish
• stuffed clams, oysters, shrimp, and fish
• meat/vegetable pockets/pies
• cooked stuffed peppers, tomatoes, or cabbage
• singled slices of cake, pie, or quiche
• sandwiches, tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, or tostadas
• cooked pizzas, whole or sliced
• servings of cooked chili or soup
• egg rolls and spring rolls
• cookies and brownies

This list is not all inclusive. The variety of ready-to-eat foods is considerable.

Many grocery stores offer ready-to-eat food items for sale in their deli and bakery departments. Sometimes questions arise about which food items are exempt from the net weight labeling requirement. The following list provides characteristics of most ready-to-eat food items: (1) ready for consumption though not necessarily on the premises where sold; (2) sold from bulk or packaged in single serving size; (3) advertised for sale by serving (like food items on restaurant menus); (4) does not require further preparation prior to consumption (incl. warming); (5) not sold by weight elsewhere in the store; (6) usually subject to state sales tax; (7) often sold in combination with other food items as a meal; and (8) prepared or packaged by the business where they are sold - either on site or at a central kitchen operated by that business. Notable exceptions to these ready-to-eat food guidelines include sliced meat and cheese products when sold separately.

Precooked foods intended to be consumed hot must be sold hot in order to be considered ready-to-eat foods. Precooked foods that are sold refrigerated, and must be warmed for consumption, are not ready-to-eat foods.

Licenses and standards inspectors are available at the Consumer Affairs Unit to answer any questions that you may have regarding the exemption from the net weight labeling requirement for ready-to-eat food items.