FMI wrote: >The majority of consumers do not understand metric measurements.
Consumers have had enough exposure to liter and half-liter bottles of water and olive oil, 750 ml bottles of wine and oil, and 2 l bottles of pop to understand what a liter is. Measuring cups have been graduated in milliliters for decades. Measuring devices in grams are not as common, but nutritional labels indicate fat, protein, and carbs in grams, and the kilogram is easily related to the liter of water. (The 28 mg discrepancy is within bottling tolerance.) >Value comparison between similar products of different sizes Products labeled in pounds are already also labeled in grams. The consumer can divide cents by grams in his head for both products (if he can divide in his head; if not, units don't matter). Once I had a very hard decision between a 250 g package of fresh strawberries and a 283 g package of frozen strawberries. The unit prices were very close, and I walked back and forth several times before deciding on the frozen. I've seen comparisons I cannot make with the current system of labeling. One is a 400 g pack of açaí (4 pieces, 100 g each) versus a 473 ml tub of açaí sorbet. I know neither the density nor the fraction of açaí in the sorbet. Another is a dry pint of tomatoes versus a pound of tomatoes. The dry pint is labeled 551 ml, but when I weigh it it is nowhere near 551 g, more like 300 or 330 g, and there are too few tomatoes for the density to be well-defined. I think that the dry pint and all its relatives should be abolished. >result in package change sizes. The proposed law doesn't require changing package sizes. It doesn't even require changing labels. What will probably happen is that anything that's round in grams will be labeled only in grams, and anything that's round in pounds will be labeled in both. >and that will require changes in unit pricing labels. Even a small store can take in $1000 in a day. $1000 spread over 50 weeks is a trifle. >as well as nutrition information and recipe programs. Nutrition information is already in grams; packaging in round numbers of grams will make it easy to understand. Some packages currently have serving sizes and numbers of servings that don't match the package size. As to recipes, Latinos at least write recipes in metric, and would find it easier if they could buy tomatoes in grams. Pierre
