ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore today proclaimed March 1–7 as Maryland Weights and Measures Week in recognition of the important service provided by the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Weights and Measures Section.
“Weights and Measures inspectors protect fairness in the marketplace by ensuring the accurate measurement of grocery store products, gas, home fuel oil, and more,” said Acting Secretary Kevin Atticks. “Weights and Measures Week is a time to recognize and appreciate this important work done by our MDA inspectors.”
The Department’s Weights and Measures program provides consumer protection services through inspection of weighing and measuring devices and net contents of packaged commodities in the marketplace for compliance with the law. The program also investigates consumer complaints with regard to incorrect weight and measurement of goods. The regulation of Weights and Measures is one of the oldest continual functions of government.
Maryland’s Weights and Measures staff inspect nearly 62,000 weighing and measuring devices in commercial use at about 7,400 businesses around the state. In FY22, field staff conducted nearly 23,000 inspections of commercial weighing and measuring devices, including: cash registers, deli scales, shipping scales, large truck scales, fuel pumps, meters to measure home heating oil and propane, and many other devices. The department also inspected more than 7,000 individual lots of pre-packaged commodities offered for sale and investigated more than 200 consumer complaints—the majority of which were related to gasoline sales.
In recent years, the program built a database that tracks registration of more than 6,200 businesses across the state, using electronic inspection software instead of paper reports. With these new tools, staff can quickly locate information and target critical areas, while field inspectors are able to plan inspections more strategically by reducing travel time and providing more uniform inspection coverage statewide. By modernizing its operations, the program has become more efficient and cost-effective in its mission to better protect Maryland consumers.
Inspectors also participate in specialized training and accredited testing in order to stay on top of the latest trends in the field. Recently inspectors have recently taken on the responsibility of inspecting gas pumps for credit card skimming devices as their presence increases throughout the state. Weights and Measures is needed as much today as it was in the past, and continues to provide a vital service to consumers and businesses alike.
Maryland Weights and Measures Week coincides with National Weights and Measures Week, which commemorates President John Adams’ signing of the first U.S. weights and measures law in 1799. This year’s theme is “Collaborating with Partners and Stakeholders for a Greater Measure of Equity,” emphasizing multiple collaborations in the field of weights and measures including those between national organizations, national and international trade associations, and members of National Conference on Weights and Measures.
For more information on the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Weights and Measures Section, or to submit a complaint, please visit the department’s website. The department’s Weights and Measures Section can also be reached at (410) 841-5790 or weights.measures@maryland.gov.
