Trade Approved Food Scales: What You Need to Buy

You may have seen our selection of trade approved scales on this website, but what does trade approval mean, and why would you need one? This blog discusses what a trade approved scale is, why trading standards will keep an eye on you, and which five trade approved scales we recommend.

What is a Trade Approved Scale?

When the price of a product that you’re selling is determined by the product’s weight, the UK legally requires you to use a trade approved scale. A trade approved scale is one that has undergone extra testing to prove that it meets international standards of accuracy. Trade approved scales can be used for applications such as weighing meat at a butcher’s, fruit and veg at the market or sweets at the sweetshop.

Why Will Trading Standards Check if Your Scale is Trade Approved?

Good businesses gain and maintain customers because they’re known to be trustworthy. Trust is earned by selling fairly and giving the customers what they paid for, no more and no less. Without a trade approved scale, you’re not just at risk of accusations against your business’s integrity, you’re actually breaking the law by not giving your customers exactly what they paid for.

Purchasing a non-approved scale may seem like a way to save money, but trading standards can and sometimes will issue fines for the use of non-approved weighing scales for approved applications. These fines can be over £1000. In addition, when caught, you’ll be given a very short timeframe to replace the scale with an approved model, during which you can no longer use your old scale. This will cost you the money you would have made selling products during this time.

Which Trade Approved Food Scales Do I Need?

Inscale supplies a variety of trade approved scales. In this section, we’ll look at five of our most popular and discuss the features and benefits they offer.  

Adam ‘Gladiator’ Trade Approved Waterproof Floor Scale

Capacity: 6kg – 150kg

Readability: 2g – 50g

Adam’s ‘Gladiator’ Trade Approved Washdown Floor Scale is perfect for the heavy, messy things you may need to weigh, like meat, fish or bags of flour. The Gladiator offers IP68-rated protection against dust and water ingress as well as grade 304 stainless steel construction, making it easy to clean and keep hygienic. Additionally, Gladiator features a checkweighing function to make weighing tasks faster, with a Hi/Lo notification when an item weighs more or less than the limits you set. Keep a record of your results by easily connecting a printer via the RS-232 output!

Adam SWZ ‘Swift’ Price Computing Retail Scale

Capacity: 1.5/3kg – 15/30kg

Readability: 0.5/1g – 5/10g

Adam’s SWZ ‘Swift’ Price Computing Retail Scale features three displays on both the front and rear for determining the weight, unit price and price to pay for objects sold in your shop or market. With 100 PLUs (Price Look Ups), price recall is faster than ever, simply enter the code of one of your 100 best-selling products. Take the SWZ wherever you need it thanks to its rechargeable battery and portable design, providing you the flexibility you need.

Kern FXN Trade Approved Waterproof Bench Scale

Capacity: 3kg – 30kg

Readability: 1g – 10g

Kern’s FXN Trade Approved Waterproof Bench Scale is very popular with the food production industry because of its IP68 rating for maximum protection against dust and water ingress in wet, humid and dirty environments. Maintaining proper hygiene is a breeze! The FXN also boasts a highly responsive weight display that provides accurate weight values within two seconds.

A&D HL-WP Compact Washdown Scale

Capacity: 300g – 3kg

Readability: 0.1g – 1g

If you’re running out of space on your benchtop, perhaps you’d prefer A&D’s HL-WP Compact Washdown Scale. Small and sleek, you can take the HL-WP anywhere with its rechargeable battery. The HL-WP is also IP65 rated for average protection against water and dust ingress. Choose between two different weighing pans, one flat and the other concave, to suit your needs.

Kern FOB-LM Approved Stainless Steel Bench Scale

Capacity: 1.5kg – 15kg

Readability: 0.5g – 5g

If you need the checkweighing of the Gladiator but not the high capacity, Kern’s FOB-LM is here for you. The FOB-LM offers a rechargeable battery for ultimate convenience and flexibility. In addition, the FOB-LM features a simple-to-use checkweighing application, with a colour-changing display.

If you’re not sure whether your business needs a trade approved scale, or which one is best, please contact our team.