On top of everything else going wrong, now this

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From Times staff writer Jerry Hirsch:

As if you haven’t been paying enough at the grocery checkout counter this year: A federal rule change that dictates the method used to weigh and price fresh meat and poultry will cost California consumers, beginning today.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided that California must use the same weighing system employed by all other states. It’s a standardization that helps packing houses and meat processors.

The state had used a weighing method called ‘wet tare,’ meaning that it adjusted for moisture contained inside the packaging, according to California food regulators.

But starting today, the state must shift to the ‘dry tare’ method, which allows for moisture to be included in the product weight when pricing it.

California was the only state to use the wet-tare system. Only ribs packaged with barbecue sauce and chicken and turkey with brine solution were exempt.

Until now, packing plants met California’s stricter standard by overpacking, so that they weren’t charging for moisture content. That amounted to an average 1.4% meat bonus for consumers and about a 0.5% addition for poultry.

The change to wet tare means a family of four purchasing meat and poultry five times a week will pay about $1 more per week for the same amount of food, the state Department of Food and Agriculture estimates.

Given already high food inflation, every little bit hurts.