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Municipal Center
Building A
383 Broadway, Fort Edward, New York 12828
Telephone (518) 746-2254
Fax (518) 746-2157
Hours: 8:30 AM -
4:30 PM, Monday thru Friday
William J. Adamson
Director |
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MISSION STATEMENT
The Sealer of Weights and Measures assures
measurement accuracy of all measuring devices used for commercial transactions
within Washington County. This includes, but is not limited to, measurement
of quantity, weight, linear measure (length) and count. Applying NYS
Department of Agriculture and Markets laws Article 16 and NYS Code of Rules
and Regulations parts 220,221,222,223 and 224 accomplish enforcement.
Things You Should Know About Weights
& Measures…
By: Sandy Buxton
Cornell Cooperative Extension
How does a customer know that what they
just paid for is actually what they received?
The system that provides this public trust is a carefully
regulated process. Controlled by NYS Agriculture and Markets, there are local
offices in each county to oversee the equipment and the vendors who are
weighing and selling products in their stores, at the market or through a
pump.
Basic Rules
There are some very basic rules that are important for
everyone to know.
• If you are
selling something by weight, you are responsible to make sure that at least
the listed amount of weight is contained by the package.
• All
scales must be certified by Weights and Measures PRIOR to using them for
weighing out products. The
vendor is responsible for purchasing an approved device AND having it
certified by a local Weights and Measures official. Many scales available at
common retail outlets are not appropriate for use, visit
http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/WM/725ver0905.pdf*
for a list of approved commercial
devices.
Do Not Wait to Call, it should be done immediately.
At this time there is no fee in Washington County to have equipment certified
but that could change and other counties do charge. There is also a fine for
not using approved scales and for every mis-weighed unit available for sale.
• The local
official, under the auspices of NYS Ag and Markets, may come out to your
business, farmers’ market stand, roadside stand or other selling venue and
check to make sure that your products and labels agree on what is being sold.
They also:
ο
Enforce the laws and regulations
ο
Inspect and test weighing and measuring
devices used commercially
ο
Inspect and test packaged commodities
ο
Regulate commercial weighing and measuring
practices used by vendors
ο
Investigate consumer and business
complaints
ο
Agriculturally related vendors who need to
be aware of the rules and make sure they are abiding by them include:
ο
Maple producers – who sell by weight and
volume
ο
Meat producers – who must make sure that
the scales weighing and labeling their products have been inspected and
certified.
ο
Cheese and dairy producers – who are
selling by weight and volume
ο
Fruit – both selling by weight as well as
the size of berry boxes may be checked.
ο
Vegetables – for producers using scales to
sell products by weight
Other possible concerns – bakers if products are labeled by
weight, roadside stands who weigh out many products.
Weights and measures officials throughout the State routinely inspect a wide
range of commercial devices and packaged commodities to assure accurate
measure in the marketplace. These inspections serve to eliminate from the
marketplace those devices and packages that do not provide an accurate measure
of the commodities or services that are exchanged. The inspections involve
more than just accuracy tests, as the official must verify that the device or
package meets other operational and/or marking and labeling requirements.
Officials inspect only commercial devices, that is, those used
in the weighing or measuring of commodities for sale and those used to measure
services rendered on the basis of weight or measure. Gas pumps, grocery store
and deli scales, and truck mounted oil meters are some of the more common
devices inspected. Devices such as taximeters, farm milk tanks, wire and
cordage meters, and berry baskets also fall under the jurisdiction of weights
and measures. |
