Jerry, The *enforcement* of "unit price" (fair "measure" (length, area, or volume) or mass delivered to a consumer for the amount of money paid) is based on samples drawn from a selected population of the product. Deviations from the advertised unit price are physically unavoidable. Such deviations are legal if they are within legislated limits.
Government officials (local, state, or federal) evaluate the samples to determine if deviations are within legal limits. These officials are frequently employees of departments of agriculture. Packagers or vendors who sell products having deviations which exceed legal limits, can be prosecuted, and fined, or even jailed if convicted of fraud. This activity of regulating products offered for sale in *public* markets for consumer protection is called "legal metrology." Commerce and trade in private is not so regulated. Does this answer your question on "getting what you pay for?" If not, search the Internet for NIST-NCWM documents. Gene. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:48:18 -0800 (PST) >From: Jeremiah MacGregor <[email protected]> >Subject: [USMA:42635] Re: Is there any literature on metrication in the US >aimed at immigrants? >To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> >... > > I don't know much about the rules of what you get > versus what you ask for but I'm sure if they gave > you 400 g it would only be breaking the law if they > charged you for some higher amount. I can't imagine > a customer calling the police because they got 400 g > instead of a pound...
