Quantity Control Program

The Weights and Measures Quantity Control Program serves to verify, through inspection, the "net content" accuracy and labeling requirement of consumer packages offered for sale in Sonoma County.  Through county and state authority, Weights and Measures officials enforce the Federal Fair Package and Labeling Act at the local level.  The Federal Fair Package and Labeling Act offers consumers protections, by affording them the ability to make educated comparisons between similar products, prior to making a purchase.  

Weights and Measures has the authority to inspect consumer products offered for sale within their given jurisdiction and it includes the authority to check the accuracy of a package's labeled "net content" statement as well as all mandated labeling requirements that fall under Weights and Measures authority to inspect.  

In addition, Weights and Measures also checks for deceptive packaging practices that may give the consumer the false impressions that they are receiving more in the larger package, when in fact the package may be "deceptively" made to look large in give the false impression that it contains more product.    

• What do the terms "gross-weight", "tare-weight", and "net-weight" refer to?

  Gross weight is the combined weight of the package-container and the product itself. Tare weight is the weight of the package-container. Net weight is the commodity's gross weight minus the tare weight, or the true weight of the product itself. Packers are required to subtract the correct tare weight from packages sold by weight. This includes items like paper and plastic bags, foam containers and string and wire ties to name a few of the items that must be subtracted.

• What determines if a product is to be sold by weight, volume or count?

  Federal regulations determine how a product must be sold and labeled. Liquids must be sold by volume, solids are generally sold by weight and semi-solids are typically sold by weight with some exceptions. For example, sauerkraut in a jar must be sold by volume, while sauerkraut in a bag must be sold by weight. These types of exceptions are determined by existing industry practices and may take in to account production and packaging methods.

• Are packages required to be labeled with metric units?

  Existing federal and state law requires that consumer packages offered for sale, must contain metric units in addition to Imperial Units of measure, with some exceptions. These exceptions extend to USDA labeled meats and alcohol products.

• What does the acronym I.R.Q. refer to and why is it important?

  I.R.Q. is an acronym that stands for identity, responsibility and quantity. All consumer products offered for sale must clearly include these three items on their label.

  The identity statement requires the manufacturer to clearly identify the product with the common name of what is in the package being offered for sale.

  The responsibility statement requires the manufacturer to clearly identify themselves with their corporate name, address and zip code. Currently, web addresses by themselves are not sufficient to comply with the address requirement. This is important for product safety concerns as well as identifying the responsible party responsible for compliance with labeling requirements.

  The quantity statement requires the manufacturer to clearly state how much product is in the package. This gives the consumer the ability to make educated decisions about the value of the product they may decide to purchase. The quantity statement should contain both standard Imperial units as well as metric units on most products, displayed on the lower 30% portion of the packages principle display label.

• Does Weights and Measures check the nutrition information on packages?

  Weights and Measures does not check the nutritional information on packages. That authority falls to the Food and Drug Administration.

• Does Weights and Measures check packages for deceptive packaging and slack fill issues?

  Weights and Measures does check products for deceptive packaging practices or "slack fill" issues. Slack fill refers to a package's vacant space that gives the impressions that the overall package contains more product than it actually does. Some packages may also contain false bottoms, or double walls that exaggerate the amount of the commodity. These practices are generally deceptive and are treated as an unfair business practice that is referred to the local consumer district attorneys office for review.