NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Agriculture Department has broken ground on the construction of a new state metrology laboratory.

The lab being built at the Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville will maintain the state's primary standards of mass, volume and length used for certified scales, meters and temperature measuring devices.

Lab staff will test gas pumps and grocery store scales and regulate signage, advertisements and price calculations to ensure consumers are not being misled.

Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton says the new facility is aimed at bringing the state into compliance with National Institute of Standards and Technology standards and to ensure "a level playing field for industry and commerce in Tennessee."