SMART LABELS COULD ERADICATE WASTE FROM FRESH FOOD GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

Insignia Technologies, Scotland’s leading intelligent packaging company, announced today the launch of the Stock Rotation smart label, designed to cut down on food waste and improve food safety at every stage of the food supply chain.

From the moment the smart label is stuck to a box or pallet of fresh produce, it starts to change colour over a pre-calibrated period of time. This means that at any point in the supply chain you can ‘see’ how fresh the fruit, vegetables, meat, or dairy goods are inside the box.

The label changes colour over time, from yellow to purple. It is both time and temperature sensitive so has the potential to highlight any problems of temperature abuse the produce may have experienced.

This simple, visual solution promises to tackle the perennial problem of stock rotation and poor practices in the transportation of fresh food, in both developed and developing markets.

David Kilshaw, CEO of Insignia Technologies, explains: “Between 30% and 50% of food produced globally never reaches the consumer. To keep up with the world’s ever increasing demand for food, the food sector must change the way it works now and reduce waste at every stage in the supply chain from farm to supermarket to consumer.

“The Stock Rotation label is the latest of the ground breaking technologies we have developed, and will play a critical role in increasing industry efficiency and improving freshness with a low cost and easy to use product.”

The label enhances current processing, transportation and distribution systems, by offering a clear visual indication of which pallets should be prioritised for use. The labels reduce time spent checking date labels, improve freshness through the supply chain, increase operational efficiencies and can also highlight problem areas where temperature abuse is occurring.

By enhancing freshness and potentially improving shelf life, the ultimate goal is to reduce food waste.

Insignia’s patented technology is the outcome of five years of research and development at the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, followed by two years of further research in state-of-the-art laboratories at BioCity Scotland.

Insignia’s strategic aim is to reduce food waste and enhance food safety. The company has developed an exciting range of intelligent packaging applications which are being successfully utilised and trialled in the US and UK. This news follows the launch of Insignia’s first product, an embedded timer for food packaging designed to reduce food waste in domestic kitchens.