In California, Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers of Weights and Measures are appointed in each of California's 58 counties by respective County Board of Supervisors. County Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers work cooperatively with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to provide protections to consumers, the environment, the agricultural industry, and to the marketplace.

Our role as County Sealers is to enforce the California Business and Professions Code and the California Code of Regulations pertaining to issues of equity in the marketplace and involving weights and measures matters, including the testing of packaged commodities for content and labeling accuracy.

Our mission as Sealers is to ensure that consumers have adequate and accurate information from package labels to facilitate meaningful and reliable value comparison.

Issue

On October 9, 2008, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) eliminated the wet tare method used for determining net weight of poultry and meat products purchased by consumers.The wet tare method for determining net weight of poultry and meat products does not include liquids absorbed into packaging materials or free-flowing in the package as part of the net weight of the product for which you, as a consumer, are charged.

USDA, by excluding wet tare methodology, mandated the use of "dry tare" procedures, which include in the net weight all fluids - including those added to the meat, to the package, or not held by the meat.Having eliminated the wet tare method, consumers will now pay meat prices for absorbed and free-flowing fluids in the packages.

Until October 9, 2008, California was the only remaining state in the U.S. implementing the wet tare method, providing enhanced protections to consumers of meat and poultry products and saving them an estimated $246 million in California alone. To consumers nationwide (assuming that California has an approximate 12% market share), the potential cost savings through the use of wet tare inspection procedures projects to a total of over $2 billion annually for all American families.

To learn more visit our dedicated website on this issue at www.truthabouttare.com