The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC), the National Council on Weights and Measures (NCWM) along with hard-working regulatory officials across the country, join in the celebration of Weights & Measures Week March 1-7, 2025. Each year, the first week of March is designated to commemorate President John Adams’s signing of the first United States weights and measures law on March 2, 1799.
NCWM Chair Marc Paquette of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets announced this year’s theme, “Building a Lasting Legacy.” “The evolution and establishment of a uniform system of weights and measures has had a significant impact on society and governments,” stated Paquette. “A uniform system provides confidence in the marketplace for both consumers and businesses. All participants in an economy are more likely to engage openly in trade if they are assured of fairness in transactions. Weights and Measures programs contribute greatly to economic development by promoting equity in the marketplace to all stakeholders.”
The NCWM continues “Building a Lasting Legacy” with a long tradition of developing uniform standards in partnership with regulatory officials, industry representatives and technical advisors. Utilizing those standards, inspectors across the country work diligently to test and inspect commercial devices that use a weight or measure to ensure fair and accurate transactions take place. Devices such as fuel meters, including gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as all types and capacities of scales, are some of the devices inspected. Many inspectors also inspect the accuracy of pricing in retail stores.
All of this activity is intended to protect the interests of buyers and sellers in commercial transactions while also maintaining a level playing field for competing businesses. Weights and Measures Week focuses on celebrating inspectors, laboratory metrologists, and support staff around the country working to ensure that equity prevails.
The mission statement of the National Council on Weights and Measures is “Ensuring Equity and Uniform Standards in a Changing Marketplace.” The NCWM has set the United States standards for weights and measures in commerce since 1905.
“The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce recognizes National Weights and Measures Week and our hardworking inspectors who ensure fairness and equity in the marketplace for our citizens,” said Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson. “Every day, our agency makes routine inspections on all types of scales used in the process of purchasing a product sold by weight or quantity within the state. When consumers see that MDAC ‘seal’ of approval, they can rest assured that they are receiving exactly what they are paying for.”
Ensuring quantity is the responsibility of the Bureau of Regulatory Services of MDAC, specifically the Regulatory Inspector. Inspectors operate within rules and regulations adopted by NCWM, published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in handbooks, and enacted by states. These publications take into consideration state and federal laws and international standards. NCWM’s model standards provide sophisticated tools that aid inspectors in the never-ending process of equity in the marketplace.
MDAC’s Bureau of Regulatory Services inspectors work to ensure that Mississippians receive the goods they are paying for. Every time a consumer uses a scale for weighing produce at the grocery store or buys gas at the pump, they can be assured they are getting the exact quantity paid for. MDAC inspectors make routine inspections on all types of commercial weighing devices including railroad scales, vehicle scales, livestock scales, hopper scales, floor scales, bench scales and those used to weigh precious metals and stones like gold, silver and diamonds.
Inspectors conduct package inspections to verify the net contents of packaged commodities and price verification inspections in businesses that utilize UPC scanning systems. In addition, the Bureau investigates complaints involving weighing and measuring devices. In 2024, MDAC’s Bureau of Regulatory Services tested 13,160 scales and 63,317 devices found at gas stations and conducted 1,671 UPC inspections across the state.
If you have any questions or concerns about the weight or quantity of product purchased, please contact the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce at 601-359-1100 or visit our website at www.mdac.ms.gov.
