For four decades the metric system has played an integral role in the day-to-day lives of Kiwis.

This week the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment's Trading Standards team celebrated the 40th anniversary of metres, kilograms and litres becoming the country's official system of measurement on December 14, 1976.

'Back in 1976, New Zealand adopted the International System of units known as the Metric System and moved away from imperial measurements,” says Trading Standards manager Stephen O'Brien.

'Forty years on, the Metric System has become critical to New Zealand's domestic and international trade with most goods measured by length, weight and volume using this system.”

Measurement and the metric system support the decisions Kiwis make as consumers every day - from the weight of a Christmas pudding, to which box of chocolates represents best value, to knowing the correct quantity of turkey and its corresponding cooking time.

The Ministry Trading Standards team oversees the country's measurement system and ensures the weights, measurement units, and measurement systems used to make such decisions are accurate and can be relied upon.

The team recently hosted an event in Wellington to showcase exciting discoveries and advancements in the world of ‘measurement'.

'Advancements in the metric system are being used to craft the future of multiple industries and support trade.

'For something that has been such an integral part of our society in the past 40 years, it will be exciting to see what the next 40 years will hold.”