Guidance notes on average quantity
(for all nations)
The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 apply to packages which are made up away from the customer in pre-determined constant quantities, by weight or volume, including most food and non-food items. The 'average quantity' system controls the overall average quantity of a batch of packages and the proportion that fall below the stated nominal quantity through a set of defined packer's rules.
There are three main rules covering the duties of a packer/importer and sufficient checks should be carried out to ensure compliance with these rules. There are also specific requirements in relation to equipment to use, marking requirements and records to keep.
A batch of packages must, at the time of packing, comply with the following ‘three packer’s rules’:
1. The actual contents of the packages must not be less, on average, than the nominal quantity.
2. The proportion of packages which are short of the stated quantity by a defined amount (the 'tolerable negative error' or TNE) should be less than a specified level (generally no more than 2.5%).
3. No package should be short by more than twice the TNE.
