The Weights & Measures Department is mandated by the State of New York and is responsible for assuring measurement and pricing accuracy in the marketplace. In Accordance with Article 16 and related New York State Agriculture and Markets Law, the department promotes equity and fairness in all consumer transactions involving quality, weight, measure, count or pricing.
The department conducts the following activities:
- Inspects and tests all commercially used weighing and measuring devices and systems. All types of scales, gasoline and fuel pumps, oil trucks, truck scales, devices to measure the length of goods as well as other systems are devices which are annually inspected.
- Inspects and tests packaged commodities. Any packaged commodity for consumer use is subject to Weights & Measures regulations. Packaged food is inspected for labeled weight, volume or count. Any item prepacked and sold by labeled count (number per package) must be correct. Any item sold by thickness (i.e.- plastic bags) must be labeled and measure correctly. Firewood purchased from a dealer must conform to advertised volume.
- Inspects for Accuracy in Pricing, Labeling. Items sold at retail must be accurately priced and scan at checkout for labeled or advertised prices. Goods found in clothing, hardware, food, drug, sporting goods or other retailers are included in these regulations. Additionally, sellers must post store policy in case of an incorrect scanned price.
- Performs petroleum fuel sampling and investigation. Samples of gasoline and diesel fuels are collected and sent to a laboratory to check for quality. Investigations are done at fuel retailers to determine dispensing accuracy. All fuel pumps must be inspected.
- Perform 'courtesy' inspections. The department will inspect many non-commercial devices for institutions such as schools (nurses and athletic depts.), adult care facilities or physician offices.
- Cause to be corrected any violations and enforce the applicable laws and regulations.
- Maintain certified Standards (equipment, weights, measurement devices) of Weights & Measures. All official test weights and measuring devices must be recertified regularly by the New York State Laboratory.