The Federal Trade Commission has found that 4 out
of 10 times, consumers get less milk and juice than
promised on cartons. Although the amount is small, 1 to 6
%, it adds up and manufacturers must do a better job. The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, Milk: Does it
Measure Up? addresses the problems associated with milk
short-filling that have affected schools, consumers, and
hospitals. In Texas, a study found that consumers have a
50-50 chance of leaving a store with less than paid for.
Another study states that there is a 56 % chance that
consumers will get less than the stated amount on the
label. Sometimes it means a consumer buying a gallon could
be cheated by 2 cents to as much as 14 cents. Maybe this is
too little to worry about but imagine buying a large amount
of milk for a school or cafeteria. If a school buys
thousands of gallons of milk of which the measure is short,
the school could lose a substantial amount of money.
Studies are being conducted by the Federal Trade Commission
with the help of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology.
In 1976, a Virginia milk cooperative was fined $500 because of selling less than indicated on the container. Inspector William J. Troup III of the State Department of Weights and Measures charged Valley of Virginia Milk Cooperative after inspection of a Shenandoah's Pride dairy store in Hagerstown, MD. Inspector Troup testified that he weighed a variety of milk products at the local store on five occasions and ordered 8,866 containers of milk and other products taken off the market. Troup also testified that out of 28 batches of milk, 16 were found to be short or under their specified weight (The Post, Frederick, MD, March 2, 1976).
An inspector uses graduated cylinders to
calculate the volume of milk being tested. Photo on virtual
loan from the Maryland State Department of Agriculture,
Weights and Measures Section.
