Abu Dhabi-UAE: 22 July, 2017:  Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), the entity responsible for developing quality infrastructure in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, carried out a series of inspections in H1 2017 to verify the accuracy of legal measuring instruments and pre-packaged products used in the Abu Dhabi market and ensure their compliance with the applicable standards.

As part of the drive, the Council inspected over the past six months 4,871 legal measuring instruments, including trade scales, gold, jewellery and precious metal scales, oud and Arabian perfume scales, weighing platforms, shipping scales and petroleum meters, as well as 9,010 pre-packaged products.

Sultan Al Mehairi, Director of Information Service and Engagement at QCC, said: “The inspection drive aligns with QCC’s mandate of developing advanced quality infrastructure in Abu Dhabi. Through achieving this goal, the Council seeks to contribute to enabling sustainable growth, enhancing the competitiveness of the emirate’s economy and creating a favourable investment environment that supports the objectives of the Abu Dhabi Plan.”

Al Mehairi added: “QCC works relentlessly to protect the rights of consumers and traders, and create a safe and fair market environment in the emirate. This latest initiative aims to boost consumer confidence in the market through ensuring that measuring instruments provide accurate readings and that traders adhere to the relevant regulations.”

He also noted that QCC runs regular awareness campaigns and carries out surprise market inspections to ensure continued accuracy of legal measuring instruments and discourage traders from manipulating scales. Retailers who use rejected scales or scales without any seals receive a warning, and the instruments are retained for further legal action.

Highlighting the important role the business community plays in the success of QCC’s inspection campaigns, Al Mehairi thanked traders and business owners for their continued support and cooperation with the Council’s inspectors.

The inspection found 95 per cent of the 1,394 trade scales examined during 1,418 visits to be compliant with the relevant regulations. In addition, 249 jewellery and precious metal scales underwent verification during 268 visits, with 98 per cent passing the verification. Of the 127 oud and Arabian perfume scales targeted during 146 visits, 94 per cent met the required specifications. Traders who used scales that failed to meet specifications were asked to rectify any deficiencies and reverify them to ensure compliance with the mandatory requirements.

Furthermore, QCC confirmed the accuracy of 178 scales used at Abu Dhabi airports and cargo companies to weigh loads ranging from 150 kg to two tonnes, including cargo and luggage. The move aimed to ensure that aircrafts do not carry more than the permitted weight and travellers are charged the correct fees as per the weight of their lug gages. The inspectors also examined 56 floor scales and weighing platforms used for loads exceeding two tonnes during 75 visits.
As part of the campaign, QCC completed the first round of fuel meter verifications at 131 ADNOC Distribution service stations in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra with 99 per cent of the 2,867 fuel meters found compliant. Following the inspection, ADNOC Distribution carried out adjustments on the remaining instruments to ensure their accuracy.

Moreover, QCC inspectors visited 27 factories manufacturing pre-packaged food items and examined 9,010 containers of 156 products including liquids such as milk and juices, as well as solids such as cheeses and biscuits.

Following the checks, the inspectors place official QCC seals on the scales. The gold ‘Verified’ seal stands for confirmed accuracy, whereas the red ‘Rejected’ seal means that the instrument has failed to meet the relevant standards.

While ordering the removal of any non-compliant scales from the market, the inspectors set a time limit for the shop owners to rectify the deficiencies and submit the instruments for reverification. Traders are not allowed to use the rejected scales until the issues are rectified and inspectors replace the ‘Rejected’ seal with the ‘Verified’ seal.

The Council urges consumers to look for the gold seals on scales before making any purchases and to report the use of scales that carry the red seals to the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Centre at 800 555.

The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council was established in 2009 to raise the quality of the emirate’s exports and locally traded products while protecting the interests of consumers and supporting the UAE’s competitive economy. QCC empowers regulators to establish and implement product safety, legal metrology and conformity schemes. The Council also sets guidelines and benchmarks to verify that products manufactured and traded in Abu Dhabi conform to the highest quality standards.