You’re probably well aware of the general rules and regulations that surround weighing and measuring your products. It’s one of the most important skills you can have as a butcher, along with being a deft knife handler, because it can play a massive part in the overall quality of your product, which can impact on your overall profits as a result. Whether you’re an apprentice who’s just learning the trade, or a seasoned professional, it never hurts to refresh yourself on the basics.

That’s where we can help you out here at Butchers Equipment Warehouse. We are a well-established provider of a range of quality butchers knives, butchers machinery, and butchers accessories from trusted brands at unbeatable prices, so you can trust us to have all the essential bits of information that you need to keep in mind about weighing and measuring your product.

Measurement and weight requirements

Starting with the thing that matters most - your customers legally have to be informed of the weight of any product you’re trying to sell them before they purchase it. The weight and measurement legislation we’ll be discussing applies to the sale of fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, cooked or processed meat that’s come from a cattle, sheep, swine, or poultry.

Generally speaking, your product needs to be sold by the kilogram, and any prepacked items must be marked with their net weight (that’s the the weight of the goods alone without the bag, wrapper or container). However, this is not the case for items like packs of pies, puddings, sausage rolls and so on. These sorts of products just need to be marked with the number of items contained within the packaging.

If a product weighs less than 5g, then you don’t have to display its net weight.

Non-prepacked goods, or those cut from a larger bulk item (such as deli ham), must be sold either by net weight or by gross weight. Gross weight is essentially the weight of the goods plus the weight of any bag, wrapper or container. This rule does not apply to products like puddings, pies, sausage rolls and so on. It also doesn’t apply to single cooked sausages or sausage-meat products weighing less than 500g.

Those are just the basics. For more advice on which kinds of products are exempt from these rules, it’s a good idea to refer to your local trading standards service, as different locations will have different rules.

Weighing your produce

As a general rule - the scales you use need to be accurate, and approved as ‘fit for use for trade’ by an inspector of weighs and measures. Alternatively, a more common option these days is to simply purchase weighing scales that are ‘qualified’ for legal use by either an approved manufacturer, a notified body, an inspector of weights and measures, or an approved verifier.

All the legally required stamps and stickers that indicate that a product is fit for use are attached by the manufacturer or approved qualifier.

So, how do you inform the customer of the weight of a product before they pay? Well, there are a couple of ways:

  • Weigh the goods in front of the customer so that they have a clear view of the weight indication on the scales.
  • Mark the weight on the bag, wrapper or container.
  • Mark the weight on a separate ticket or till receipt.

If a customer requests a trimmed or boned meat, you’ll need to inform them if the price you’re advertising is based on the weight of the product before or after you’ve prepared it for them. This is because you are legally obliged as a butcher to clearly display the weight of your products.

If you’re also a business that prepares large quantities of prepacked products, (like 500g packs of sausages) take advantage of packing them using the average-quantity system, which makes allowances for small variations in package weights. Again, for specific details you’ll need to refer to your local trading standards service, as the rules surrounding the average-quantity system differ depending on the region you operate in.

So that’s the basics covered! Here at Butchers Equipment Warehouse, we understand how important it is for you to produce high quality products that meet the standards expected from your customers. We know that for you to do this, you need to be using equipment that you can trust to give you accurate measurement results.

That’s where we can help. For over 30 years, we’ve supplied tried and tested, five star rated brands to our clients. With our extensive range of butchers machinery, accessories, and knives, we know our butchers equipment inside out. Give us a call on 01254 427721 and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have!