Jan 23, 2026 by Matt Nichol
When you’re producing pre-packed food and beverage products, “close enough” isn’t good enough. In Australia, what’s printed on pack must match what’s inside – accurately, clearly and consistently.
And regulators are paying attention.
The National Measurement Institute (NMI) conducts routine inspections in retail stores and at manufacturing sites. In 2025, major retailers – including Coles – publicly acknowledged that incorrect weights and weight labelling led to product withdrawals, potential penalties and brand damage.
For manufacturers operating under the Average Quantity System (AQS),there is a duty to:
Here’s a practical overview of the essentials to help ensure your weight labelling is right, every time.
Under guidance from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), food labels must not be false, misleading or deceptive. This explicitly includes weight and measure declarations.
FSANZ makes it clear that:
Inaccurate net quantity statements can trigger enforcement action under trade measurement and consumer law, even if the rest of the food label meets the Food Standards Code.
At the heart of trade measurement compliance is net quantity, that is, what the consumer actually gets.
Key requirements include:
NMI defines tare weight as the weight of the empty packaging.
Tare may include:
Correctly accounting for tare is essential to meeting your declared net weight.
For food and beverage manufacturers, this means considering:
Where and how weight information appears on the pack is also regulated. The specific rules vary depending on pack type and size, but key principles include:
The safest approach is to clearly understand which regulations apply to your specific pack formats. Check the NMI’s Guide to the sale of pre-packed goods for the most reliable and up-to-date information.
Another critical but often overlooked requirement is that products must meet minimum declared weight or volume for the entire shelf life, not just at the time of packing.
If a product loses moisture or mass over time, that loss must be considered when determining the declared net quantity. Certain desiccating goods (e.g. mushrooms), which lose water after packaging, are subject to specific provisions, making product knowledge and validation testing essential.
Understanding whether your product is constant weight or catch weight is critical, because the compliance rules differ significantly.
Constant weight (constant nominal content)
Catch weight (random weight)
For constant-weight food products, NMI allows two methods:
1. Uniform Trade Measurement Legislation (UTML)
Often referred to as the average system, this approach has been used in Australia for decades and remains common:
2. Average Quantity System (AQS)
AQS is typically used in higher-volume, tightly controlled operations:
AQS is aligned with international legal metrology standards and requires robust records, disciplined sampling and strong process control.
If you choose to use AQS, your products must also be marked with the AQS ‘e-mark’, positioned close to the stated quantity on the main display panel.
For catch-weight products, sampling averages aren’t meaningful – each pack is assessed individually.
That means:
This is where tight integration between checkweighing and label printing becomes critical. Any mismatch is an immediate compliance risk.
The important thing to remember is are you looking beyond the label to assess the integrity of your measurement system end-to-end.
Net quantity and marking
Measurement systems
Process and records
This is where tight integration between checkweighing and label printing becomes critical. Any mismatch is an immediate compliance risk.
For many manufacturers, compliance failures come from manual steps, disconnected systems and gaps in traceability.
An integrated approach using a select range of NMI-approved checkweighers with Matthews labelling solutions and iDSnet software helps embed compliance into everyday operations by:
Matthews iDSnet acts as a central package code management platform, linking devices on the production line (including checkweighers, printers, scanners and inspection systems) to ensure the right label is applied to the right product, at the right time.
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Talk to Matthews Australasia about integrating labelling systems and iDSnet software into your packaging line and building compliance into your process.
