4 replies to this topic

[agnes]

Hi,

I work for a company which packs free flowing product into the 1kg bags. Packing machines can be set up to required weight; any product below that set weigh will be rejected.

I have decided to build like blank samples to be used at the beginning of the shift to check if the reject system works correctly.

My question is then: Is there any law which says what the maximum weight can be in overweight products?

I don’t have a problem with lower weight which I will allow to go to T1.

I would appreciate any help on this.

[Charles.C]

Hi,

I work for a company which packs free flowing product into the 1kg bags. Packing machines can be set up to required weight; any product below that set weigh will be rejected.

I have decided to build like blank samples to be used at the beginning of the shift to check if the reject system works correctly.

My question is then: Is there any law which says what the maximum weight can be in overweight products?

I don’t have a problem with lower weight which I will allow to go to T1.

I would appreciate any help on this.

Dear agnes,

I am no legal expert so quite willing to be proven wrong but, based on 2 refs, it appears that the current (UK) answer is no, although 15 years ago the answer would seemingly hv been yes. This is rather strange since the underlying control procedures seem identical. Maybe the legal fine print has changed somewhere ?

Eg 1997

….any significant overfilling is itself an offence under the Act.

(Pg228), 3rd link in http://www.ifsqn.com...dpost__p__51945

and

1.6. The action limit, with a chance of 1 in 1,000 of exceeding, as with the normal distribution comes at three times the standard error away from the target quantity. Only the lower action limit is needed for legal metrology, although upper limits may be set, for example for safety reasons (aerosols), or economic reasons (duty on alcohol) – but the corresponding limit must be no nearer the target quantity than the lower one.

(Pg27), 2nd link (2007) in above-linked post.

Rgds / Charles.C

[GMO]

I was always taught that it's disapproved of as it would be seen as a competitive advantage but not strictly laid down in law. You'd probably get a tap on the knuckles. What's more important and probably why it's not in law is that it costs money. Perhaps talk to your operational colleagues as there will be a level of overfill where it's worth reworking the packs (and a level where it's not.)

I'm slightly concerned by the filling process though, if you only reject at T1 but are concerned about significant overfill, it makes it sound like you don't have much control over the process? In which case rejecting at T1 may ensure you have none below T2 and <2.5% between T2 and T1 (as it will be zero) but you could still be breaking the average weight rule that the batch must weigh more than or equal to the nominal weight.

Just from your brief outline, if overfill is a genuine concern, is it worth talking to the machine manufacturer? Depending on your product, it should be possible to get very accurate fill nowadays.

[agnes]

Hi



Thank you for your answers. That came very useful.



Our packing system is very tight. We hardly ever have any rejects and at the moment reject system is set by the half of the T1 (unfortunately I haven’t mentioned that in post above). Overfill is not a concerns too as we fill our bags with precision up to 0.5g.



I just wanted to know if there is any law regarding overfilled product (we don’t pack alcohol etc) and answer form Charles has helped a lot.



Thanks again :)

[Brian Meek]

The answer is Yes and No, very confusing.

If you are producing to minimum weights then it is OK to product overweights based on the declared weight calculation of the reject point.

If you are producing to average weight control then this is even more confusing. You can produce overweights as long as you dont produce them intentionaly to force the average weight above the nominal weight. It would be allowed say if you where not able to rework the product but not if you where packing rice.