2009 PRESS RELEASES
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February 26, 2009
CALCULATE THE BENEFITS DURING WEIGHTS AND MEASURES WEEK, MARCH 1-7
Contact: Marion Horsley, 804.225.3820
How do you know that the price you pay and the amount of gasoline you get when you fill up your car are both accurate? How can you be sure that the scanned price is correct on items ranging from greeting cards and green peas to neckties and toys?
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (VDACS) Office of Product and Industry Standards is responsible for assuring that weighing and measuring devices used in commercial transactions in Virginia are accurate and operate correctly.
To recognize the importance of accurate weights and measures for government, industry, and consumers, the week of March 1 – 7, 2009 has been designated Weights and Measures Week. This week commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the first weights and measures law in the U. S. in 1799, which required that each state receive a set of weights and measures standards.
“We tend to take them for granted, but accurate weights and measures are essential to ensure that transactions between buyers and sellers are fair to both. Inaccuracies can mean overpayments by consumers or the loss of products and profits for businesses,” noted Todd P. Haymore, VDACS Commissioner. “In addition to the more obvious devices that our inspectors test such as gasoline pumps and grocery scales, VDACS also checks large capacity scales, fuel oil trucks, packaged goods and scanners, among many others.”
What goes into keeping the Commonwealth’s measurements and weights correct? Here are just some of the activities of the VDACS Office of Product and Industry Standards in a single year:
- Conducted 11,734 calibrations of standards of mass and volume, including police radar tuning forks, for industry and government
- Conducted 57,812 tests of weighing and measuring equipment and rejected 9,095 for inaccuracies
- Collected and tested 2,685 samples of motor fuels to verify octane ratings, check for the presence of water in the fuel, amount of ethanol added, and compliance with other standards
- Conducted point-of-sale price verification inspections of 8,843 items using store check-out scanners
- Verified the accurate weighing of 25,721 store-wrapped packaged items.
According to an estimate provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Office of Weights and Measures, sales of products or services impacted by weights and measures laws in the United States represent approximately 50 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
For additional information, call the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Product and Industry Standards at 800.552.9963 in Virginia or 804.786.2042 in the Richmond area.