What Are Prepackaged Goods?

According to the Law 690 (76/211/EEC) currently in force, the prepackaged or prepacked item is defined as the combination of a product and the individual package in which it is prepackaged. A product is prepacked when it is contained in packaging of any type, sealed not in the presence of the purchaser and prepared so that the amount of the product contained has a predetermined value and it can not be altered without opening or clearly changing the same packaging.

The nominal mass or nominal volume of the contents of a prepackaged product is the mass or the volume indicated on the packaging and it corresponds to the amount of product that it should contain. The actual content of a prepacked product is the amount in terms of mass or volume of product which it in fact contains. The prepackaged goods must comply with the provisions of this Law may be marked with the EEC mark and are hereinafter referred to as "pre-packaged EEC."

Why Should You Check The Weight of Prepackaged Products?

Checking the weight of prepackaged products is essential to ensure the quality of the production process and to protect both the buyer and the manufacturer. The statistical check is governed by Community Law n. 76/211/EEC and, depending on the Nation, governed by its national legislation in force. The production checks may be necessary even if not used for Legal for Trade but also for internal factory use, to monitor the efficiency of the production cycle. In this case, the check criteria are no longer dictated by law but can be customized to suit your production requirements.

What Are The Advantages for a Producer to Run These Control Systems?

For the traceability of the batch and ensuring a perfect conformity of the manufactured packaging, excludes any complaints of non-compliance. The quality control of the manufactured batches in accordance with the laws in force. The frequent, checking of the manufactured packaging eliminates the risk of overfilling with consequent cost savings from reduced product giveaway.

What Happens if a Distributor or The Consumer Finds a Non-compliance?

If a distributor finds a non-confirming product, normally they can refuse the delivery of the goods with obvious consequences for the manufacturer. It also threatens to detract from the supplier relationship. If a consumer finds an underweight package and makes complaint to the competent authority, one will be subject to an investigation which could lead to a case of commercial fraud.

Operationally, How Would You Perform The Checking of The Packaged Goods?

The checking is done by weighing, using approved scales Legal for Trade use. The choice of the most suitable scale shall be in accordance with the criteria set by the law.

The continuous checking of the lot/batch means that each manufactured package is weighed through an approved scale. Resulting in the elimination of all packaged products that are out of tolerance ensures that the entire lot/batch is fully compliant.

The statistical sampling, which corresponds to the weighing through an approved scale of a sample of packaged items taken from the total lot/batch during its production, in accordance to the methods and times prescribed by the law. It is advisable in this case to buy an intelligent scale, able to automatically perform all of the calculations and verifications required by the law and to provide in real-time the lot/batch results by greatly simplifying and speeding up the sampling operations.

In both cases, the producer must retain the data of each lot/batch, in order to certify in case of an inspection or dispute the correct execution of the tests and the compliance of the material sold.

According to What Criteria Do You Choose The Most Suitable Scale to Perform The Checking?

The current legislation clearly establishes which reading division the scale must have in order to be suitable to carryout the checking, based on the nominal weight to be checked.

In Summary, What Steps Should The Manufacturer Follow to Operate in Compliance?

1. Check if the product concerned is part of the prepackaged family.
2. Decide whether to perform an integral or statistical checking.
3. Buy a weighing scale approved in respect to the features.