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Weight fraud (alsoscale fraud andshort-weighting) is a type ofmeasurementfraud involving the mislabeling or inaccurateweighing of products. In thisdeceptive practice, products are labeled or weighed in a manner that falsely indicates a greater weight than they actually possess. Forfraud deterrence, many locales require periodic calibration of weight scales and employinspectors to verify that thelegal standard definitions of weights are being met.
The rise ofself-checkout has led to consumer weight fraud at the register resulting inshrinkage. Customers may intentionally or unintentionally misrepresent the weight of products when using self-checkout machines, leading to a discrepancy between the actual and recorded weights of products.
Weight fraud can also involve the adulterating the product through the addition of lower-cost, inferior, or unnecessary ingredients, such as water, in order to increase its overall weight. This type of adulteration allows manufacturers or sellers to artificially inflate the weight of the product while reducing their production costs, thereby increasing their profits. However, this form of weight fraud misleads consumers and may negatively impact the quality, safety, or nutritional value of the product, potentially resulting in harm to both the consumers and the integrity of the marketplace.
In transportation, freight brokers and carriers may misstate weights to maximize profits.
In retailfood fraud, a product's packaging might state that it weighs more than it actually does, or a retail scale might be rigged to display an inflated weight.
The product's packaging may be fraudulently included in the product's weight, or if negligible, may be increased in weight, such as the pre-moistening of themeat diaper or addingice tofish.[1][2] Other common forms of short-weight include the intentional glazing with a "marinade" of water, citric acid, and salt glaze.[3][4] The use of lower-cost plant-derived ingredients and the injection of water into meat may also occur.[5]
Shrimp and prawn may be injected withcarboxymethyl cellulose gel to increase weight. Seafood may also be soaked in polyphosphates which have increased water retention allowing them to absorb excess water to increase weight.[6]
Tea may be adulterated with fake materials and colorized agents to increase the volume that may be brewed.[7]
In the United States, weight fraud is monitored by inspectors, and has been an ongoing concern.[8][9]
In 1910, thePennsylvania Department of Agriculture wrote:[10]
Several of the trade journals reaching this office have been waging a more or less aggressive warfare against the petty swindle of short weight in the grocery business. It is very difficult to believe that any number of retail dealers are willing to resort to such petty cheating for the purposes of adding to their profits. That some do, however, is shown by the facts put upon record by the men who are trying to break up the practice and by the action of several legislative and municipal authorities in moving toward the task of providing a remedy. It is a habit that is a disgrace to those who indulge in it and an injury to the consumer. It should be outlawed by the States, and the offender should be made to feel the weight of public scorn.
A 2021 investigation byKNSD inSan Diego found that some retail scales were measuring lighter than they should.[11]
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To deter scale fraud, the USDS requires that stockyard owners, swine contractors, market agencies, dealers (including video auctions), packers, or live poultry dealers that weigh livestock, live poultry, or feed, must have their scales tested at least twice each calendar year.[18] The first scale tests must occur between January 1 and June 30 of the calendar year and the second must occur between July 1 and December 31 of the calendar year. A minimum of 120 days is required between these two tests.[18] More frequent testing is required for scales that do not maintain accuracy between tests.[18]
In 1979, aGAO report found that household movers routinely inflated freight weights in a practice called "weight bumping."[19][20]
In 2016,Maersk was fined $3.7 million for falsely inflating military cargo freight weights.[21]
Freight weight fraud may also endangers carriers such as vessels and planes by shifting the center of gravity.[22]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Department of Agriculture. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Types offraud | |
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| Business-related | |
| Family-related | |
| Financial-related | |
| Food-related | |
| Government-related | |
| Healthcare | |
| Other types | |
Types ofcrime | ||
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Note: Crimes vary byjurisdiction. Not all types are listed here. | ||
| Classes | ||
| Against the person |
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| Againstproperty | ||
| Against the public | ||
| Against thestate | ||
| Againstjustice | ||
| Against animals | ||
| Sexual offenses | ||
| Inchoate offenses | ||
