It's hard to be a smart consumer today. You think about the products you buy and the amount you can spend. Can I afford this? Is this the best buy? Am I getting my money's worth? Almost everything we buy is sold either by weight, volume, length, count or measure. Think of examples -- a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, a liter of wine, a yard of cloth, a pound of hamburger, or a cord of firewood.
Without standard measurements, it would be difficult to do simple things like use cookbooks or buy carpeting, laundry detergent and fabric. You don't carry a scale or measuring tape with you to check the weight or measure of everything you buy. How do you know you're getting what you pay for?
For hundreds of years, your local weights and measures officials have been working behind the scenes to protect consumers, businesses, and manufacturers from unfair practices. In Westchester County, the Department of Weights and Measures - Consumer Protection insures that you’re getting what you pay for. Consumers and businesses both benefit when their local weights and measures officials enforce the law and help maintain an equitable marketplace.
Inspectors from the division use highly accurate equipment to inspect scales, meters, scanning equipment and packaged products at supermarkets, grocery stores and delicatessens. They also inspect weighing and measuring equipment in gasoline stations, warehouses, recycling centers, packaging plants, shipping companies and lumber yards. The inspector’s testing equipment is checked by NY State and by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Weights and measures officials test weighing devices such as gasoline pumps and scales annually. A seal is usually put on the device to show that the equipment was tested and found correct. If you do not see a seal, ask the store owner or manager and contact the department at or (914) 995-2179.