What this is
What is a pack weight control record?
What is a pack weight control record?
It is the record that ties net-weight sampling on a packing line to two separate compliance tests at once: the average-weight rule and the individual-pack tolerable negative error rule. It runs continuously or at set intervals and is completed by the operator, with the checkweigher or scale reference, mean, spread and extremes captured from the actual sample taken.
What is a tolerable negative error, and why does it matter here?
The tolerable negative error, or TNE, is the maximum amount an individual pack is allowed to fall short of its nominal weight before it is out of tolerance. A single pack found below twice the TNE is treated as a legal breach in its own right, independent of whether the batch average is fine, which is why the record scores it as a standalone pass or fail rather than folding it into the mean.
What is the difference between an average weight system, a minimum weight system and a checkweigher with feedback?
An average weight system accepts individual packs below nominal provided the batch mean and the TNE bands are met. A minimum weight system requires every pack to clear a stated floor with no averaging allowance. A checkweigher with feedback automates the same decision in real time and adjusts the filler, which the record scores higher than either manual method because the correction happens before more packs are affected.
Scope
When is a pack weight control record required?
This record is one step in a larger programme. Using it for work that belongs to a neighbouring template produces records that are hard to report on later.
Use this template when
- A packing run is live, or about to start, on a line with a defined nominal weight
- A sampling interval has been reached under a continuous or set-interval weight control regime
- The workspace is being set up, or the register needs an entry added or retired
- You are running the Labelling and Packaging programme and this is one of its steps
- A linked record needs this one to exist: links test equipment, yield
Do not use it for
- Label Verification Record, which verifies that the label on the line matches the specification for that product, covering allergens, claims, dates and barcodes.
- Artwork Approval Record, which records approval of new or amended artwork before it is printed, with each checker named.
- Date Coding Verification, which verifies date and batch coding is present, legible, correct and in the right position.
- Packaging Reconciliation Record, which accounts for packaging materials issued against materials used, wasted and remaining, not product net weight.
- Anything outside KnowQuality, which belongs in the workspace that owns that process
Compliance mapping
Which BRCGS cl.6.3 requirements does this satisfy?
BRCGS cl.6.3 sets the general obligation to control pack weight; the detail that decides whether a record is defensible, such as tolerable negative error and what happens to a failing pack, sits in national weights and measures law, and this record is built to carry both.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| BRCGS cl.6.3 | A documented weight control system appropriate to the packing method is identified before the run starts | Header |
| BRCGS cl.6.3 | Tolerable negative error is known, and a pack found below twice that error is treated as a standalone legal breach | Legal control |
| BRCGS cl.6.3 | Sample size and sampling frequency meet the plan set for the control method in use | Legal control |
| BRCGS cl.6.3 | Mean weight, spread and the minimum and maximum recorded are taken from the actual sample, not estimated | Measurements |
| BRCGS cl.6.3 | Weighing equipment is calibrated, verified within the shift, and tare is confirmed correct before results are relied on | Measurements |
| BRCGS cl.6.3 | Underweight packs are rejected at the line and the rejects reconciled before the batch is released | Response |
| BRCGS cl.6.3 | Any non-compliant product that reached despatch is placed on hold with its physical location recorded | Response |
What it does not cover
- A comfortable mean weight sitting above nominal, which can mask individual packs below the tolerable negative error hiding inside the same sample.
- A checkweigher reference entered with no verification recorded for the shift, which means the system making the pass or fail decision was never itself confirmed to be reading correctly.
- Underweight packs marked rejected with no rejects reconciled figure, which leaves no evidence that what left the line matches what the reject count claims was pulled.
- A minimum weight control method recorded with the tolerable negative error fields left blank, which is the one control regime where that data is not optional.
- Giveaway percent trending upward across shifts with no improvement action raised, which turns a margin problem into a standing cost that nobody is accountable for.
Global
Pack Weight Control Record requirements by country
Weight control is legal metrology before it is food safety, and which regime a site answers to changes what this record actually has to prove.
Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006
Sets the average weight rule and the tolerable negative error bands that the record's legal control section is built around.
A UK site running an average weight system must show the batch mean at or above nominal and no pack below twice the stated TNE, both captured in this record rather than assumed from the checkweigher's own pass light.
Directive 76/211/EEC (average system of weight and volume control)
The underlying basis for the e-mark average weight system many EU-facing packers rely on for prepackaged goods.
A pack carrying the e-mark is making a claim under this directive, and the record's average weight and TNE fields are the evidence a trading standards or market surveillance check would ask to see.
NIST Handbook 133
Built around minimum-weight compliance rather than the average-weight system used in the UK and EU.
A US line answers the record's Control Method field differently to a UK line: it needs every pack to clear a stated minimum rather than relying on a batch average to carry a handful of light packs.
How to complete it
How to complete a pack weight control record, step by step
Filling in every field does not make a pack weight control record defensible on its own. Four judgement calls decide whether the numbers hold up when someone challenges them.
Average weight, minimum weight and checkweigher with feedback are three different legal postures, not three ways of describing the same thing. Recording the wrong one means every downstream field is being judged against the wrong bar, and a pass under one regime can be a fail under another.
A pack below twice the tolerable negative error is an automatic legal breach regardless of the average. A marginal average, by contrast, is a quality signal that may not breach anything on its own. Treating the two as equally serious, or equally dismissible, misreads what the record is actually flagging.
Sample size and sampling frequency fields being ticked yes does not confirm the sample was representative of the run. A small sample taken at one point in a long shift can pass every field here and still miss a filler that drifted an hour later.
Rejection, reconciliation, and, where product already reached despatch, a hold with a recorded location, form one chain. A break anywhere in that chain, most often a missing reconciliation figure, is what turns a caught problem into an unaccounted-for one.
What auditors find
Most common pack weight control record findings
These are the patterns that turn up most often when a pack weight control record is reviewed after the fact, rather than at the point it was raised.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerable negative error fields left blank while status shows Complete | BRCGS cl.6.3 | Block completion until the TNE fields carry an actual value or an explicit not-applicable, tied to the control method selected. |
| Checkweigher verified this shift marked No with no filler adjustment logged afterwards | BRCGS cl.6.3 | Require a filler-adjusted answer whenever verification fails, so an unverified system is never left running unchallenged for the rest of the shift. |
| Giveaway percent calculated but no result band selected | BRCGS cl.6.3 | Make result band mandatory wherever giveaway percent is populated, so a number without a judgement never passes review. |
| Non-compliant packs despatched marked Yes with no hold ID entered | BRCGS cl.6.3 | Enforce the hold ID and product location fields as mandatory the moment despatched non-compliant product is confirmed. |
| Sample size meets requirement marked Yes against a packs weighed count below the stated minimum | BRCGS cl.6.3 | Cross-check packs weighed against the sampling plan for the selected control method before sample size can be marked met. |
| Control method changed mid-shift with no note against the checkweigher reference field | BRCGS cl.6.3 | Require a checkweigher reference or method-change note whenever control method differs from the site's registered default for that line. |
Case in point
Case in point: the average that hid the breach
A cooked meats line was running an average weight system on sliced ham, posting a mean comfortably above nominal for three consecutive shifts. The weekly report showed green across the board, because the report only ever surfaced the mean and the standard deviation.
A customer complaint about a light pack triggered a pull of the underlying sample data, which showed two packs in the third shift below twice the tolerable negative error, a standalone legal breach that the summary view had never displayed. The fix was not a filler adjustment; it was making the individual TNE result visible at the same level as the mean, not buried a screen below it.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
6 sections
- Reference
- QUA-095
- Archetype
- Record
- Record ID
- PWC-2026-000
- Scoring
- Within tolerance
- Direction
- High is good
- Singleton
- Yes
- Basis
- BRCGS cl.6.3
- Links
- Links Test equipment, Yield
- Tags
- Packaging, Weight
- Sections
- 6
- Fields
- 55
- Follow up fields
- 6
- Repeating sections
- 0
- Links out
- 4
Header
16 fieldsRecord ID*
Auto sequence. Format PWC-2026-000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Raised By*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Line*
Shift*
Line Lead
Batch Number*
Numeric key joining to your ERP batch record.
Links to External system reference
Product*
Production Date*
Two Different Failures
Underfilling is a legal offence and a customer complaint. Overfilling is margin walking out of the door. The same chart shows both, and most sites only look at one.
Nominal Weight*
Control Method*
Average weight system, minimum weight system, or checkweigher with feedback.
- Average weight system3 pts
- Minimum weight system3 pts
- Checkweigher with feedback4 pts
Checkweigher Reference
Legal control
6 fieldsTolerable Negative Error Known*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Packs Below One TNE Within Limit*
- Yes3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Any Pack Below Two TNE*
A single pack below twice the tolerable negative error is a legal breach on its own.
- No3 pts
- Yes0 pts
Average Meets Or Exceeds Nominal*
- Yes3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- No0 pts
Sample Size Meets Requirement*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Sampling Frequency Met*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Measurements
9 fieldsPacks Weighed*
Mean Weight*
Standard Deviation
Minimum Weight Recorded*
Maximum Weight Recorded
Giveaway Percent*
Scale Calibrated And Verified*
- Yes3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Checkweigher Verified This Shift*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Tare Correct*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Response
10 fieldsFiller Adjusted
- Yes3 pts
- Not needed3 pts
- No0 pts
Underweight Packs Rejected*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Rejects Reconciled*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Legal Non Compliance Occurred*
- No3 pts
- Yes0 pts
Giveaway Above Target*
- No3 pts
- Marginal1 pt
- Yes0 pts
Improvement Action Raised*
- Not needed3 pts
- Yes2 pts
- No0 pts
Non Compliant Packs Despatched*
- No3 pts
- Yes0 pts
Quantity Affected
Hold ID
Raise the hold record, then enter its reference.
Links to QUA-003 Hold ID
Product Location
Where the affected product physically is right now.
Related records
1 fieldLabel Verification ID
The declared weight this run was checked against.
Links to QUA-089 Verification ID
Result
13 fieldsItems Assessed*
Excludes anything marked N/A.
Items Failed*
Score Percent*
Calculated on submission. High is good. N/A items leave the denominator.
Result Band*
- Pass3 pts
- Caution1 pt
- Fail0 pts
Completeness Percent*
How much of the template was actually answered. A high score on a half completed form is not a high score.
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Operator*
Signature*
Quality*
Second Signature*
QUA-095 · record IDs look like PWC-2026-000 · Links Test equipment, Yield
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The form is the easy part. Keeping the control method current, catching a TNE breach the moment it happens and holding the reconciliation chain together is the work that actually slips.
Holds the pack weight control record against the product register, flags a pack below twice the tolerable negative error the moment it is entered, and keeps the reject-to-reconciliation chain visible in one place.
Tracks scale and checkweigher calibration and verification against schedule, so a shift never runs on equipment that quietly fell out of the maintenance plan.
Rolls giveaway and control-method trends up by line and shift, surfacing the margin cost that never trips a legal threshold but still needs an owner.
Coordinates the crew, rolls completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in KnowQuality — quality and food safety. HACCP, nonconformance, traceability, laboratory and customer complaints.
Meet KnowQuality→Glossary
Pack Weight Control Record definitions and key terms
- Tolerable negative error (TNE)
- The maximum shortfall an individual pack is allowed below its nominal weight before it counts as out of tolerance under an average weight system.
- Average weight system
- A weight control regime that judges the batch mean against nominal and allows individual packs below nominal within defined TNE bands.
- Minimum weight system
- A weight control regime requiring every individual pack to meet or exceed a stated floor, with no averaging allowance.
- Checkweigher with feedback
- An automated in-line weighing system that rejects out-of-tolerance packs and adjusts the filler in real time.
- Giveaway
- The amount by which average fill exceeds nominal weight, expressed as a percentage; a margin cost rather than a legal measure.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about pack weight control record
What is the pack weight control record template based on?+
It is built against BRCGS cl.6.3, the clause covering weight control systems within the BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety. The detail on tolerable negative error and legal breach thresholds is carried by national weights and measures law rather than BRCGS itself.
What sections does the pack weight control record contain?+
There are six sections: header, legal control, measurements, response, related records and result. Together they hold 55 fields, 42 of which are required.
How many pack weight control records should we have?+
This is a singleton. One record per workspace, set up once and maintained, rather than one per event, with each packing run or sampling interval logged against it.
Which programme does the pack weight control record belong to?+
It is part of Labelling and Packaging, described as the leading cause of recalls caught by a two person check at every changeover.
How is a pack weight control record scored?+
Scoring runs within tolerance, where high is good. Checkweigher with feedback scores higher than average or minimum weight systems, and a pack below twice the TNE zeroes the legal control section regardless of the average.
Can the pack weight control record template be changed?+
Yes. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to test equipment and yield records come with it. Most sites install it as it is, run it for a cycle, then adjust the sampling frequency to match their actual line speed.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Labelling and Packaging
Product and SKU Register
Holds every product and pack format you make, with its specification, allergens, shelf life and customer
Label Verification Record
Verifies that the label on the line matches the specification for that product, covering allergens, claims, dates and barcodes
Artwork Approval Record
Records approval of new or amended artwork before it is printed, with each checker named
Date Coding Verification
Verifies date and batch coding is present, legible, correct and in the right position
Packaging Material Inspection
Inspects incoming packaging for damage, contamination, correct print and food contact compliance
Packaging Reconciliation Record
Reconciles packaging and label quantities issued, used and returned at the end of a run
More in Packaging and Labelling
Label Verification Record
Verifies that the label on the line matches the specification for that product, covering allergens, claims, dates and barcodes
Artwork Approval Record
Records approval of new or amended artwork before it is printed, with each checker named
Date Coding Verification
Verifies date and batch coding is present, legible, correct and in the right position
Packaging Material Inspection
Inspects incoming packaging for damage, contamination, correct print and food contact compliance
Packaging Reconciliation Record
Reconciles packaging and label quantities issued, used and returned at the end of a run
Seal Integrity Test Record
Records seal strength, burst or dye testing on packs, with the result against specification
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- BRCGS — Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards, cl.6.3
- Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (UK)
- Directive 76/211/EEC — average system of weight and volume control
- NIST Handbook 133 — Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.