Scanner Specifications

(1) Each food store or food department with more than 5,000 square feet of retail grocery item sales space that utilizes a consumer price scanner system shall have at least one fully operational consumer price scanner for every 5,000 square feet of retail grocery item sales space or part thereof. (2) The location of a consumer price scanner shall be disclosed by one clear and conspicuous price sign at eye level, and one clear and conspicuous sign above eye level. (3) Consumer price scanners shall be equally spaced throughout the store in fixed locations. (4) All consumer price scanners shall comply with 28 CFR Part 36, Appendix A: Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines and 521 CMR 7.00: Retail Establishments. (5) A sign shall be posted by each consumer price scanner containing contact information for the Division of Standards so that consumers may report non-operating or otherwise defective consumer price scanners to the Division. (6) Inoperable scanners shall be repaired or replaced as soon as is practicable, but in no event shall scanners go unrepaired or unreplaced for longer than 72 hours. (7) A food store or food department with more than 5,000 and less than 20,000 square feet of retail grocery item sales space shall have at least one fully operational consumer price scanner capable of producing an individual item pricing tag, located at the front of the food store or food department. (8) A food store or food department with more than 20,000 square feet of retail grocery item sales space shall provide at least two such fully operational printing scanners, with at least one located at the front of the food store or food department. (9) At all such printing scanner locations, the food store or food department shall provide the consumer with a means by which such pricing tag may be affixed or appended to the item or its packaging, such as tape or an adhesive pricing tag. (10) Consumer price scanners shall be deemed fully operational if: (a) The consumer price scanner clearly and conspicuously identifies and displays the item by name or other distinguishing characteristics; (b) The consumer price scanner displays the item's correct price when the item is scanned; (c) In the case of a food store or food department that uses loyalty cards or otherwise maintains a dual pricing system, the consumer price scanner displays both the loyalty card price and the non-card price if they differ; and (d) For scanners capable of producing an individual item pricing tag, the food store or food department provides the consumer with a means by which such pricing tag may be appended to the item or its packaging, such as tape or an adhesive price tag. (11) Upon the review and approval of the Deputy Director, food stores or food departments may also deploy new technologies which further the intent of this section, including, but not limited to, hand held or shopping cart-attached scanners that retain in memory and itemize all scanned items. Such technologies may reduce the required number of consumer price scanners by no more than 50%. In order to reduce the otherwise required number of consumer price scanners, food stores or food departments must deploy such alternative scanner instruments at a ratio of five to one, that is, the equivalent of five scanner instruments per 5,000 square feet of retail selling space, or at a rate of one such scanner instrument for 1,000 square feet of retail selling space.