QBR
Over 1,000 formal warnings have been issued against Queensland retailers as a result of the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) ongoing compliance blitz.
The regulatory body continues to weigh in on whether the state's products measure up, checking everything from corner store milk and supermarket deli ham to petrol from service stations.
Fair Trading Minister Peter Lawlor yesterday revealed details of the initiative, which involved measuring weight, size or volume of products.
INSPECTION RESULTS
"From July 2009 to February 2010, OFT inspectors were busy visiting 2,573 shops, retail outlets and other traders," Lawlor says.
"During the visits, OFT inspectors tested more than 4,200 measuring instruments to make sure the businesses were measuring and calculating prices correctly for customers," he says.
"This included instruments such as scales used to weigh anything from fresh fruit and vegetables bought at weekend markets and sausages from the butcher, through to bowsers pumping out fuel."
According to a government statement, almost 100 traders were found to be "incorrectly measuring their goods".
Lawlor says more than 27,000 separate pre-packaged products found on shelves were also tested, including: confectionery, snack foods, cheese, eggs, meat, frozen seafood and wholesale fruit and vegetables.
Almost 12 percent – or 3,203 – of these items were reportedly found to be "short measure".
FORMAL WARNINGS
Lawlor says a retailer incorrectly weighing and dispensing goods, or a business incorrectly packing goods for pre-packaged products, could end up paying for it.
"As a result of our latest compliance checks, 1,297 formal warnings were issued," he says.
"Another 141 infringement notices were handed out mostly because of pre-packed items having a different quantity to what's on the label or for failing to allow for the weight of the plastic tub or paper bag when measuring."
