IN GENERAL

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances tit. 8, ch. 152

in effect

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.10 Method of sale of commodities generally.

152.10. - Method of sale of commodities generally. (a) Commodities in liquid form shall be sold only by liquid measure or by weight. Commodities not in liquid form shall be sold only by weight, by measure of length or area, or by count. Provided, that liquid commodities may be sold by weight and commodities not in liquid form may be sold by count only when such methods give accurate information as to the quantity of commodity sold. (b) This section shall not apply to: (1) Commodities when sold for immediate consumption on the premises where sold; (2) Vegetables when sold by the head or bunch; (3) Commodities in containers standardized by state or federal law; (4) Commodities in package form when there exists a general consumer usage to express the quantity in some other manner; (5) Concrete aggregates, concrete mixtures and loose solid materials such as earth, soil, gravel, crushed stone and the like, when sold by cubic measure; (6) Unprocessed vegetable and animal fertilizer, when sold by cubic measure. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.010)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.20 Method of sale of meat, poultry, cheese and seafood.

152.20. - Method of sale of meat, poultry, cheese and seafood. All meat, meat products, poultry (whole or parts), cheese and all seafood, except shellfish, offered for sale or sold as food, shall be offered for sale or sold by weight. Meat, poultry, cheese or seafood combined with or associated with some other food element or elements to form either a distinctive food product or a food combination shall be sold by weight, and the quantity representation may be the total weight of the product or combination. This section shall not apply to prepared meat, poultry, cheese or seafood sold for immediate consumption on or off the premises. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.020)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.30 Method of sale of packages.

152.30. - Method of sale of packages. Commodities in package form offered or displayed for sale to the public shall bear on the outside of the package a definite, plain and conspicuous declaration of the: (1) Identity of the commodity in the package, unless the same can easily be identified through the wrapper or container; (2) Net quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure or count, and not qualified by any term tending to exaggerate the amount of quantity in the package; and (3) In the case of any package offered or displayed for sale, or sold any place other than on the premises where packed, the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.030)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.40 Declarations of unit price at random.

152.40. - Declarations of unit price at random. In addition to the declarations required by section 152.30, any commodity in package form, the package being one of a lot containing random weights, measures or counts of the same commodity and bearing the total selling price of the package, shall bear on the outside of the package a plain and conspicuous declaration of the price per single unit of weight, measure or count. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.040)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.50 Unit pricing of commodities.

152.50. - Unit pricing of commodities. (a) No person shall sell or offer or expose for sale at retail any commodity as defined in subsection (b) herein, unless a unit price label containing a description of the item, the selling price, the quantity, and the unit price is affixed by attachment of a stamp, tag or label directly adjacent to the commodity on the display shelf, or on the commodity itself; except where the commodity is not in a conspicuously visible place, a list bearing such price information shall be placed near the place of procurement. "Unit price" means the price per usual unit of quantity of a commodity expressed to the nearest one-tenth of one cent. (b) The following commodities are governed by the provisions of this section: (1) Canned, bottled and frozen vegetables. (2) Canned, bottled and frozen fruits. (3) Canned, bottled, real and imitation, vegetable and fruit juices. (4) Frozen vegetable and fruit juice concentrates. (5) Canned and bottled baby foods. (6) Cooking and salad oils, and shortening. (7) Canned and bottled fish and meats. (8) Canned and bottled tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato puree and other related tomato products. (9) Ketchups, mustards and other sauces. (10) Jams, jellies and preserves. (11) Peanut butter and sandwich spreads. (12) Flour and sugar. (13) Coffee, instant and regular, and cocoa and tea. (14) Dog and cat foods. (15) Breakfast cereals and instant breakfast foods. (16) Macaroni, spaghetti and other dry pasta products (does not include prepared convenience pasta foods). (17) Salad dressings. (18) Dishwashing and laundry soaps and detergents. (19) Scouring powders. (20) Dentifrices, mouthwashes, deodorants, bath soaps, shampoos. (21) Household cleaning products. (c) This section does not apply to any brand of any regulated commodity unless there are two (2) or more sizes of the same quality of that brand sold or offered or exposed for sale at an establishment. (d) This section does not apply to an establishment with total retail sales of less than seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00) per year. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.050)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.60 Misleading packages.

152.60. - Misleading packages. No commodity in package form shall be so wrapped, nor shall it be in a container so made, formed or filled as to mislead the purchaser as to quantity of the contents of the package, and the contents of a container shall not fall below such reasonable standard of fill. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.060)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.70 Advertising packages for sale.

152.70. - Advertising packages for sale. Whenever a commodity in package form is advertised in any manner and the retail price of the package is stated in the advertisement, there shall be closely and conspicuously associated with such statement of price a declaration of the basic quantity of contents of the package as is required by this chapter to appear on the package; provided that where the law or regulation requires a dual declaration of net quantity to appear on the package, only the declaration that sets forth the quantity in terms of the smaller unit of weight or measure (the declaration that is required to appear first and without parentheses on the package) need appear in the advertisement; and provided further that there shall not be included as part of the declaration required under this section such qualifying terms as "when packed," "minimum," "not less than," or any other terms of similar import; nor any term qualifying a unit of weight, measure or count (for example: "jumbo," "giant," "full," and the like), that tends to exaggerate the amount of commodity in the package. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.070)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.80 Misleading advertisements prohibited.

152.80. - Misleading advertisements prohibited. (a) No person shall advertise or cause to be advertised in any newspaper or other publication, or any advertising device, or by any other manner or means whatever, any assertion, representation or statement of fact, concerning real or personal property or services, professional or otherwise, or concerning any circumstances or matter of fact connected with the proposed performance or disposition thereof, which is untrue or misleading and which is known, or which, by the exercise of reasonable care, should be known to be untrue or misleading. (b) No person shall, by means of exaggerated variations in the comparative size, location or position of letters, figures or other markings or characters on any price tag, sign, poster, notice, display or advertisement or other public representation of any nature whatsoever, mislead or deceive, or attempt to mislead or deceive, the public, as to the true nature, price, quantity, quality, brand or character of any goods, wares, merchandise, service, facilities or accommodations, or as to the nature of, or the reason, if any is offered, for the sale or offering for sale, so being made to the public. (c) No person shall advertise property or services for sale with the word "wholesale" when the property or services are available for purchase by the general public. (d) No person shall advertise or otherwise represent to the public in any manner whatsoever: (1) A representation of brand, quality, quantity, trade name or other character of any property or services that is untrue or misleading; or (2) A sale or gift or an offer for sale or gift of any property or services which is contingent upon the concurrent purchase of any other property or service, unless clearly spelled out in the advertising. (e) This section does not apply to any publisher of a newspaper, magazine or other publication, or the owner or operator of a radio or television station, or any other owner or operator of a medium primarily devoted to advertising, who publishes, broadcasts or otherwise disseminates an advertisement in good faith without knowledge of its false, deceptive or misleading character. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.080)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.90 Exempt commodities.

152.90. - Exempt commodities. Any commodity which is regulated by a federal or state law or regulation relating to the subject matters of the preceding sections of this chapter shall be exempted from those provisions. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.090)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.100 Meat advertising; USDA marking requirements.

152.100. - Meat advertising; USDA marking requirements. No person shall advertise for sale any perishable meat, whether or not prepackaged, except processed meat products and ground meat, unless the advertising includes the price per pound and the grade as marked, when required, in accordance with the United States Department of Agriculture official grading standards or any subsequent revisions thereof. The following are United States Department of Agriculture official grades and marks of said grades: (a) For beef, veal or calf: (1) U.S. Prime; (2) U.S. Choice; (3) Select (beef only); (4) U.S. Good (veal and calf only); (5) U.S. Standard; (6) U.S. Commercial (beef only); and (7) U.S. Utility. (b) For lamb, yearling mutton and mutton: (1) U.S. Prime; (2) U.S. Choice; (3) U.S. Good; (4) U.S. Utility; and (5) U.S. Cull. Grade marks shall be designated in a plain and conspicuous manner and be no less prominent than any trade or brand names denoting quality. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.100; Pet. No. 250069, § 1, 8-11-89)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.110 Complete price; representations; official terms.

152.110. - Complete price; representations; official terms. No person shall advertise or otherwise represent to the public in any manner whatsoever: (a) A price or price reference of a commodity, service or other thing of value unless such price representation is the complete cash purchase price, which shall be unconditioned and include all charges except taxes levied at the retail level. The prominence or emphasis of the complete price shall be primary to any other related price quotations such as a payment or trade provision. (b) A representation in any manner of brand, quality, quantity, trade name, or other character of any property or service that is untrue or misleading. (c) Terms such as "Public Notice," "Public Sale," "Ordered Sold," or other similar phrase, unless there is an official act by a governmental agency concerning the subject or application for such terms. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.110)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.120 Misrepresentation of price.

152.120. - Misrepresentation of price. Whenever any commodity or service is sold, or is offered, exposed or advertised for sale, by weight, measure or count, the price shall not be misrepresented, nor shall the price be represented in any manner calculated or tending to mislead or deceive an actual or prospective purchaser. Whenever an advertised, posted or labeled price per unit of weight, measure or count includes a fraction of a cent, all elements of the fraction shall be prominently displayed and the numeral or numerals expressing the fraction shall be immediately adjacent to and of the same general design and style as, and at least one-half the height and width of, the numeral representing the whole cents. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.120)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.130 Scales for checkweighing of prepackaged commodities required.

152.130. - Scales for checkweighing of prepackaged commodities required. It shall be unlawful for any person to prepackage and sell food products at retail on the store premises without providing an accessible price computing scale for customer checkweighing usage or to refuse to reweigh such food product in the presence of a prospective customer when so requested. Decimal pound conversion charts or tables shall be provided where markings on packages are designated in the decimal system showing equivalents of the decimal pounds (100 divisions) to be customary ounce divisions, reduced to quarter-ounce fractions thereof (64 divisions). (Code 1960, As Amend., § 838.130)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.140 Sale of garbage cans; notice required.

152.140. - Sale of garbage cans; notice required. No person shall offer for sale any receptacle designed for holding garbage or trash, of a capacity of at least twenty (20) gallons and less than one hundred (100) gallons without displaying next to that receptacle a sign measuring not less than one foot by one foot, on which is written in a legible manner the following: "Minneapolis Code section 225.580 requires that all garbage cans for outdoor use be made of metal, have tightfitting covers, have two (2) side handles, and have a capacity of thirty-two (32) gallons or less." (78-Or-134, § 1, 7-28-78)

Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 152.150 Sale of household batteries; notice required.

152.150. - Sale of household batteries; notice required. (a) No person shall offer for sale any household battery without displaying on the portion of the shelf or display rack on which such battery is displayed a printed sign plainly visible to customers which reads as follows: "The improper disposal of used batteries is an environmental hazard. Used batteries should be deposited in Minneapolis recycling containers in a separate transparent plastic bag or in containers located at local police stations, fire stations, or park buildings." (b) For purposes of this section, the term "household battery" shall mean and include disposable or rechargeable dry cells commonly used as power sources for household or consumer products including, but not limited to, nickel-cadmium, alkaline, mercuric oxide, silver oxide, zinc oxide, lithium and carbon zinc batteries, but excluding lead acid batteries. (c) This section shall take effect thirty (30) days after the date that the city institutes and operates a program for the collection of discarded household batteries. Prior notice of the effective date of this section shall be published and broadcast in the printed and broadcast media. (d) This section shall be deemed repealed and of no further force and effect at such time as the city, having instituted and operated a program for the collection of household batteries, terminates such program and ceases to collect such batteries. (90-Or-142, § 1, 5-25-90; 90-Or-240, § 1, 9-14-90)

Source: City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Code of Ordinances, City Charter and Park and Recreation Board Code of Ordinances (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/mn/minneapolis/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_TIT8COPR_CH152INGEFetched: 11/2/2026