In Kevin Wilks' "Metrication In Australia," it is mentioned that the disparate measurement laws in that country were streamlined considerably by the metrication process. Thanks to Phil's and Jim's excellent discussions here, I can see how.
Paul Quoting James Frysinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Phil has hit the nail on the head. Packaging and labeling laws are > scattered among diverse agencies, disorganized to the neophyte's eyes, > and often arcane. Some are enacted (statutory) laws, some are > regulations, as he said, and yet others may be by local tradition. Many > regulatory bodies have their hands in this mess. Some things are not > even regulated. And yet, the bulk of what we want to know can be found > by looking in just a few places. > > We members of USMA and others in this group ask people to expend some > effort to metricate. In all fairness we should expend some effort into > researching what it is that we want to have changed. > > I'll work through an example for you. I now reside in Tennessee and have > an interest in becoming involved in truck farming (to farmers markets, > etc.). I called the Tennessee Department of Agriculture's Regulatory > Services and told the woman who answered what I was looking for. Within > seconds I was connected to "Bob" who told me that, yes, Tennessee does > use the NCWM models, such as the UPLR. > > Even though I told him I was a member of the National Conference on > Weights and Measures and had a current hard copy of Handbook 130 in > hand, Bob was not content to set me adrift but insisted on guiding me > right to the answer I sought. In particular he said that what I was > looking for was on page 234 (within "Interpretations and Guidelines") of > the 2008 edition of Handbook 130. There I saw that cherry tomatoes could > be sold by weight or by dry measure. If sold by dry measure, they "must > be sold in containers standardized by the Berry Basket and Box Code in > Handbook 44." Regular tomatoes can be similarly sold but if sold in dry > measure they must be sold in units of not less than 1 peck. > > Of course, Bob could have just told me the answer on cherry tomatoes, > but he was kind enough to make sure I could find similar answers in the > future. He said he could even fax copies of appropriate pages to people. > > The answer in your state may vary, as Phil pointed out below! Please, > folks, let's do some research. In the long run, that will make our > complaints, requests, and suggestions sound well-founded. And thus we > are more likely to be listened to. > > Those handbooks can be found online at > http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Publications/H130-08.cfm > http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Publications/H44-08.cfm > If you go to the NCWM site you can pay for hard copies. The July meeting > of the NCWM will be in Vermont this year. > > Jim > > Phil Chernack wrote: > > Where do you get that it is illegal to sell by the "dry pint?" Produce > > is not covered by the FPLA, It is up to states to determine how produce > > is measured. Keep in mind that most laws governing the sale of dairy > > and produce go back 100 or so years. In some cases, these laws have > > been updated. As for metric, even though the law may specifically state > > that a particular item is to measured in some kind of bushel or > > whatever, most states have a blanket law that permits (or more to the > > point, doesn't prohibit) the use of metric measures for all purposes. > > What these laws don't do is make metric mandatory. > > > > The best bet is to go to your state legislature's website and look up > > the statutes regarding metric. Keep in mind that not all law is > > statutory but may be administrative as well. Administrative law is made > > through a rules process with public comment rather than the legislative > > process. > > > > Folks, you have to get away from this notion that all measurement law is > > covered by the FPLA and UPLR. Certain things are governed by the FPLA. > > The UPLR is not even a law, rather a model law for states to adopt > > regarding all sorts of things, not just metric-only labeling. Some > > states have adopted permissive metric-only labeling without adopting the > > UPLR as written. > > > > If you really want to have an impact on metric related law, it helps to > > do the following: > > 1. Live in the state you are trying to influence. > > 2. Research what the current laws are regarding measurement > > 3. Find out the appropriate parties to contact (legislative and > > administrative) > > 4. Plan out a well-reasoned and thoughtful position like consumer > > protection (rather than "the rest of the country/world does") > > > > If you don't follow these steps (or a variation of them) you are just > > tilting at windmills. > > > > Phil > > > > On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 11:50 PM, Pierre Abbat <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote: > > > > I've bought some cherry tomatoes that came in a package marked "one > > dry pint", > > with no metric equivalent. (I've also seen some packages with an > > equivalent > > in milliliters.) I sent an email pointing out that labeling a grocery > > only "one dry pint" is illegal and asking that they be labeled in > > grams (I > > weigh tomatoes when making a recipe). > > > > I just brought up the FPLA and there is no mention of a dry pint > > anywhere. > > There's no mention of a liter either. The regulations mention dry > > pints, but > > is it legal to sell tomatoes by volume? I think they're too big to be > > accurately measured by volume and should be sold by mass. > > > > Pierre > > > > > > -- > James R. Frysinger > 632 Stony Point Mountain Road > Doyle, TN 38559-3030 > > (H) 931.657.3107 > (C) 931.212.0267 > > -- DIGNITY, SELF-RESPECT, AND INTEGRITY IN PHARMACY Paul Trusten, R.Ph. Acting Secretary Phone +1(432)528-7724 The Pharmacy Alliance 3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122 Midland TX 79707-2872 USA mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://oleapothecary.blog.com
