For hundreds of years, local weights and measures' officials have been working behind the scenes to protect consumers, businesses, and manufacturers from unfair practices. Weights and measures' official work in agricultural departments, consumer protection offices, and other state and local government agencies. These individuals use highly accurate equipment to inspect scales, meters, scanning equipment and packaged products at supermarkets, variety and department stores. They also inspect weighing and measuring equipment and packages at warehouses, packing plants, shipping companies, lumber yards and home improvement outlets and gasoline stations. They act as a third party to help maintain fairness and keep the market place in balance.
Consumers have rights and responsibilities in the market place.
The department of Weights and Measures can provide the consumer with important ideas on how to best use weights and measure's information. By knowing what to do, you too can help the market place work at its best. Nearly everything you purchase today is prepackaged. It is important that the correct amount be in package and that consumers have adequate and correct information on the outside of the package. Whether you are purchasing prepackaged meat at the meat counter, boxed cereal at the grocery store or fragrance at retail, the amount contained inside the package must be printed clearly and in a specific location on the label.