I found this old reference to the FMI's response to the 1992 change to the FPLA that introduced metric labelling here in the States:
"As originally amended by Congress in 1992, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act would have required the metric system to be the primary means of specifying contents on packages, a rule that might have led many companies to make costly adjustments in package sizes. But intense lobbying, particularly by the Food Marketing Institute, a Washington organization representing food retailers and wholesalers, prompted Congress to lighten the impact on businesses. Under the rules that will be enforced beginning this month, the system of weights and measures customarily used in America can still be the basis for the first measurements presented on a label, with the metric equivalents displayed second. Also, foods that are packaged at the retail level--such as deli items and produce--are exempt from the metric labeling rules." I wish we had an effective strategy to counter their opposition. They seem to be the major roadblock to adopting the voluntary metric-only labelling amendment to the FPLA. Ezra
