This year, Cuyahoga County consumers will see redesigned Weights and Measures seals on gas pumps and grocery scales.

The 2018 Weights and Measures approval seal is round.

Weights and Measures seals show consumers at a glance that they’re getting what they pay for.

In 2017, Weights and Measures inspectors tested 12,034 devices in Cuyahoga County. When a device passes a test, county inspectors secure the mechanism with lead wires to keep it from being tampered with. Then they apply the external approval seal so both businesses and consumers can easily identify approved devices.

When inspectors find devices that do not accurately measure products, they order them taken out of service until they are repaired. In the worst cases, inspectors condemn or confiscate scales.

Weights and Measures seals are good for a full year after a device is approved. That means consumers will still see valid rectangular 2017 seals well into 2018. And the round 2018 seals? Those will be valid well into 2019.

Cuyahoga County Weights and Measures Inspectors test all devices in Cuyahoga County, except for those in the City of Cleveland, which has its own Weights and Measures office. All Weights and Measures seals are dated, so consumers will know roughly when a device was last checked.

If you spot an unsealed measuring device, see an approval seal that’s dated 2016 or earlier or suspect a device is not measuring correctly, contact the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs’ Division of Weights and Measures at 216-443-7035 or through our online complaint form.

Weights and Measures also acts if advertised prices don’t ring up at the register or if products are improperly weighed or labeled.