[USMA:38027] Re: How much water is in this bottle?

[STANLEY DOORE]

It should be 16.9 fl oz since metric is the last  and least important unit 
on the label.  This is why the actual unit used to produce the product 
should be first on the label to tell people what the actual 
capacity/measurement was used in production.
Regards,  Stan Doore


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <usma@colostate.edu>
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 6:00 PM
Subject: [USMA:38026] Re: How much water is in this bottle?


Dear Paul,

Excellent letter!

I'm just wondering if there is are bills in the House and Senate that 
currently have sponsors.

If so, it would be nice to let the ABA know who those sponsors are and to 
encourage them to contact those sponsors.

Also, if the ABA is a member of the FMI, the ABA should be encouraged to 
lobby the FMI to drop their opposition to a voluntary metric-only 
amendment to the FPLA.

Regards,
Ezra

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Paul Trusten, R.Ph." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Dear American Beverage Association,

A label from my favorite bottled water, Aquafina, prompts me to write to 
you
about improving U.S. beverage product labeling for the consumer. 
According
to the current Aquafina label (example attached), this bottle contains 
"16.9
fl. oz 1.05 PT (500 mL)."

You might expect a number of consumers to ask, "How much water is in this
bottle?"

Is this numerical muddle what you and I really want on our product 
labels?
Is it fair to anyone who reads the label to have to interpret this list 
of
measurement units?

Over the past 30 years, the soft drink industry has been a leader in
popularizing the metric system with the American people. Indeed, one 
major
carbonated- beverage producer takes particular pride in the fact that it
introduced the 2-liter package size to the U.S. market. Isn't it time for
the industry as a whole to take full advantage of metric-system 
simplicity
for its customers?  There is a way!

As you know, the metric system is the preferred system of measurement for
trade and commerce in the United States (Metric Conversion Act of 1975,
amended 1988). However, the federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act 
(FPLA)
continues to require both metric and U.S. customary units to appear on
product labels.  I am writing to ask you to support the concept of 
amending
the FPLA to allow you the OPTION of labeling your products in metric 
units
only.

The people of the U.S. are ready for this choice. The simple statement 
"500
mL" is listed alone on supermarket shelf tags and featured on electronic
store marquees. At your option (meaning, at no cost to you),  and based 
on
the legal national preference for metric, it should be able to stand 
alone
on your U.S. product labels.

The U.S. Metric Association (USMA), Inc., is a non-profit, national
organization, founded in 1916, and dedicated to U.S. adoption of the 
metric
system as the Nation's primary system of measurement.  We believe that it 
is
time for the U.S. to implement fully the international measurement 
standard.
Establishing a metric-only labeling option would be a sensible beginning 
for
the changeover, and would certainly be easier on the eyes of the American
beverage consumer.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Sincerely,

Paul Trusten, R.Ph.
Public Relations Director
U.S. Metric Association, Inc.
www.metric.org
3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apt. 122
Midland TX 79707-2872 USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]