Packaged products

The Measuring Instruments Act includes provisions on

• indicating the quantity contained in the package
• variation of the quantity of the pre-packaged product
• measuring instruments used to determine the quantity contained in the package.

The requirements of the Measuring Instruments Act must be followed, unless more detailed requirements have been defined in other legislation (e.g. foodstuffs).

The packager is responsible for ensuring that the quantity contained in the package

• fulfils the requirements
• is checked by using a measuring instrument that complies with the requirements of the Measuring Instruments Act
• is stated correctly.

Use measuring instruments that can be verified

When packing products, use verified measuring instruments compliant with the Measuring Instruments Act to check the quantity contained in the package.

The weight of the product does not include the weight of the package

Do not include the weight of the package in the quantity contained in the package. When weighing a product, deduct the weight of the package from the total weighing result, or tare the scales before weighing the product.

Units of measurement indicating the quantity contained in the product package

State the quantity contained in the package in units of weight, volume, length or area. The quantity of a liquid product can be stated in units of weight or volume.

Use SI units to state the nominal amount. Other units of measurement can also be used in pre-packaged products as a parallel marking. In that case, the font size of the unofficial unit of measurement must not be larger than the font size of the official unit of measurement.

Procedures for checking the quantity contained in the package

Packagers can select the measuring procedure that suits their product and production the best. Take the tare management into account in measuring the quantity of content, regardless of the method. For example, you can specify an average value for the weight of the packaging material and check it regularly.

Alternative methods for checking the quantity contained in the package:

• Measuring the quantity of product in each package

  If the products to be packaged are of variable weight, meaning that each product is marked with the actual quantity it contains, measure the quantity contained in each product package with a separately verified measuring instrument.
  If sampling is not used to check the quantity contained in packages of standard weight, the measuring instrument on the line must be verified.
  A verified measuring instrument may be, for example, automatic line scales, volume measurement equipment or non-automatic scales.

• Verifying the quantity contained in the package by sampling
  The quantity of product contained by a package with standard content can be checked with a verified measuring instrument (such as non-automatic scales) by taking samples from a production lot. In that case, it is not necessary to verify the measuring instrument on the production line.
  The sampling must be sufficient for the production. The measurement results must be recorded so that the verifying measurements can be confirmed later. .