Dairy, juice products come up short

That's because 666 of these types of products, or slightly more than 40% inspected in a recent study, contained from 1% to 6% less product than stated on the label. As reported by newspapers, a three-week federal/state study this spring conducted 1깞 inspections at universities, hospitals, schools, retailers, dairies and packaging plants in 20 states. The "Milk: Does It Measure Up?" study was prompted by state officials, retailers and the media. It was conducted by agencies including the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, and coordinated with state and local weights and measures officials. Elaine Kolish, FTC's assistant director for enforcement, tells PW, "The weights and measures officials who uncovered these problems at retail stores ordered those lots of products off sale. Some of those states are considering civil penalties as well. Those that continue to short school lunch milk could be barred from future federal procurement programs." The study suggests training as one way to rectify the situation. "At least six sessions have already been scheduled around the country to provide training to dairies and packagers," Kolish says. "And we've been pleased with the cooperative attitude dairies have taken. Where inspections have uncovered problems, the dairies are fixing them."