How do they weigh cheese with holes?

[AndiFlatland]

Emmental cheese has a lot of holes, all different sizes, and randomly distributed through the cheese. One supermarket I visit regularly sells 400g blocks of it in vacuum-wrappers. How do they know, when they're cutting the cheese, that each block will weigh exactly 400g? After all, depending upon the varying size and the random distribution of the bubbles, there can surely be no way of cutting by size that they will end up with exactly the right weight each time. Do they perhaps just cut a standard block, and then shave bits off it until the weight is correct, and use the shavings for additives in other foods, or sell it as grated cheese - or even, maybe, pass it on to farmers as animal feed?

[douglas9401]

I'd hazard a guess that the 400g is nominal and what you actually get is slightly over to ensure fair play and avoid unpleasantness at the customer service desk.
Have you weighed your purchase when you get it home?

[Sir Alec]

Surely the holes are made of air and so do not add anything to the overall weight.

[Old_Geezer]

Laser guidance won't work, you still have to calculate where a cut will be to get the right weight. Nice question, not as daft as the title suggested. Like the others my guess is that they are covered by the same sort of thing that says 'average contents ='. So long as, long term, they are averaging the right weight, and there isn't too much variation then it's all probably legal.

[RATTER15]

I think they shave it off to the right weight, there used to be a factory near me that bought cheese shavings and pressed it into blocks, I don't know what happened to the blocks though.

[chris1957au]

Simple use a set of scales stop at 400g !!!

[Old_Geezer]

I guess any shavings could be used to make processed cheese.

[kinell]

polo mints..theres another rip-off

[kinell]

flippin aero..theres another

[AndiFlatland]

OK, there's a lot of jokers and pedants out there, but those berks can go hike! It IS an interesting question, and I'm not sure I've got the answer yet, but thanks anyway. Just to add to the mirth and merriment for a moment... I've noticed that the tastiest bits of Emmental tend to be around the holes (not sure why this would be... anybody?). So how about they make a cheese which is all hole? Blimey, that would be tasty, wouldn't it! 8=)))