Prepackaged
Prepackaged are packaging (usually of food ), which in the absence of the end-user may be, the contents that no more no visible changes in the manipulated packaging packed and sealed.
Determinations
"Pre-packs within the meaning of this law are packaging of any type in which products are packed in the absence of the buyer and which are sealed in the absence of the buyer, whereby the quantity of the product contained therein cannot be changed without opening or noticeably changing the packaging."
Legal regulations regulate the appearance and product labeling of prepackages. Prescribed pack sizes are only available for certain foods that are listed in Appendix 1 of the FPV ( wine , beer , brandy , milk , water , lemonades , juices , sugar , chocolate and cocoa ). For all other prepackaged foods, the manufacturer can choose their own pack sizes (see figure: 375 g). Due to the obligation to indicate the basic price (for every food the price per kilogram or per liter must be stated), the customer has the opportunity to compare prices at any time.
The following legal regulations regulate the sale of prepackages:
- Prepackage Regulation (FPackV)
- Guideline for filling quantity testing of prepackages (RFP)
- Measurement and calibration law
- Food information regulation
Calibration law regulates the maximum permissible deviations from the respective nominal fill quantities. The custody transfer monitoring of prepackages is intended to ensure that the nominal filling quantities are not exceeded. The statistical evaluations are intended to protect the consumer from the fact that the pack contains less than stated.
The regulations should be illustrated using the example of a flour package of 1000 g:
- The mean value of all packs must not be less than 1000 g (= nominal filling quantity)
- The maximum permissible minus deviation (at 1000 g) may not exceed 15 g (= 1.5%)
- The minus deviations may be exceeded by a maximum of 2% of the prepackages
- No package may have a greater minus deviation than 3%,
otherwise there is always a violation.
EEC mark for prepackages
The small "e" , which is often printed on prepackages, may be printed if the nominal filling quantity is not less than 5 grams or milliliters and not greater than 10 kilograms or liters. If the drained weight is to be stated in addition to the total filling quantity , the EEC mark only refers to the total filling quantity. Packs bearing this symbol are generally only checked in the respective member state of the European Union in which they were manufactured.
responsibility
Compliance with the legal regulations is enforced by the local calibration authorities. These calibration authorities carry out spot checks on products at regular intervals. If individual manufacturers receive negative results, the controls are tightened. In the worst case, production can be shut down. Normally, however, "the market" regulates this very quickly, since manufacturers are not interested in receiving negative press.
Depending on the size and production quantities of pre-packaged products, random samples can either be taken from ongoing production and checked on a non-automatic (static) scale installed next to the production line, or, in the case of high production volumes, a dynamic or automatic scale is added directly to the Integrated production line.
Since the prepackaging ordinance has established itself as an integral part of quality assurance , many scale manufacturers offer scales and software that support the manufacturer of prepackaged products with the regular tests. By using these systems, manufacturers can prove to the end user at any time how quality assurance has worked. As required by the Verification Act, it is a generally recognized procedure.