Comma use dividing two lists in one sentence

How do I properly punctuate this sentence: "I prepared, packaged, and priced beef, pork, chicken, and seafood."

I am trying to say that I did those three actions to those four kinds of meat, but I am unsure of what to do. Should there be a colon or semi-colon between priced and beef?

Solution 1:

The most common form of series punctuation (at least in the US) is to place a comma after each item in the series. Some style guides say that, when using and, the comma before the and is optional. Using that approach, your phrasing would read

Prepared, packaged and priced beef, pork, chicken and seafood.

Some guides say the comma should be used before the and.

Your concern that some might find this difficult to understand is warranted. This is a sentence fragment rather than a full sentence, and that may contribute to the issue. An alternative that might help is

Prepared, packaged and priced: beef, pork, chicken and seafood.

SUPPLEMENT

After prompting from tchrist, I have found two online style guides that suggest a comma can be used before the and in a series (National Geographic says do it and Garbl's says it's optional). The above text has been modified accordingly. I don't have access to the fee-based guides but would welcome input from those who do.

Solution 2:

Recast the sentence. You are not beholden to it that way: nothing was etched in stone. If it seems confusing, then it is.

You can't write any sentence and expect someone to put in proper punctuation. Sometimes the sentence itself borders on ambiguity, and therefore should be recast.

To quote William Watt:

To best thing about writing something on paper is that you can always change it. It is easier to twist a bad sentence on paper into a good one, than it is to write one out of the clear blue air.