Oxfordshire's refill shops have shown "good" compliance with food legislation during a recent check.

These shops aim to help residents cut back on single-use plastics, and checks by Oxfordshire County Council have confirmed that they are in line with weight measures and food legislation.

The council's trading standards team visited nine businesses over two days in March.

Councillor Nathan Ley said: "Growing awareness of the need to reduce consumption of single-use plastics has prompted the emergence of ‘zero waste’ or refill shops.

"In the current climate, it’s important that consumers should also be confident that they are getting the quantity that they are paying for.

"Therefore, it’s very reassuring to hear that our local refill shops here in Oxfordshire are compliant with weights and measures, and food safety regulations."

One business was given advice recommending that it use its existing scales to determine the quantity of liquid products rather than relying on the capacities of the containers being re-filled.

All but one of the refill shops visited were selling dry foodstuffs by weight over stamped scales, while all tested scales were found to be within working tolerances for accuracy.

Jody Kerman, head of the council's trading standards, added: "The cost of living crisis means it’s arguably more important than ever that consumers get what they pay for.

"Trading standards has an important part to play as ensuring businesses are weighing and measuring goods accurately is one of the cornerstones of our profession."