As so often happens, the growth of one industry results in the development of other industries, and one that has witnessed a lot of growth in the past couple of years is the development of tamper evident food labels to keep delivered food safe and healthy.
The food industry, from food processing to quick service, is very familiar with what is called tamper evident or tamper resistant packaging. The 1983 Tylenol incident in which containers were tampered with, resulting in seven deaths, sent shock waves throughout the consumer products industry, including foodservice.
This led to the development of all types of tamper-resistant packaging, from the crates in which consumer products are packaged and delivered to retailers to the individual containers in which they are sold.
However, tamper-evident food labels are different. Placed on food delivery packaging materials, they are not meant to keep people out. Instead, they serve to alert consumers of a potential problem. If the label is broken, consumers know the contents inside have likely been tampered with.
While we cannot point to any one reason or situation that has triggered the development and growth of the tamper evident label industry, the recent spate of videos showing pizza delivery personnel eating the toppings off their customers’ soon-to-be delivered pizza has undoubtedly played a role. Security cameras captured most of these videos as they were happening.
Food Label Product Selection
As more and more manufacturers introduce tamper-evident labels, those in the quick-service industry need to know what to look for before making a product selection. One of the most important things is to make sure the label will adhere to virtually any type of packaging material. Food items are now delivered in traditional cardboard boxes, Styrofoam, plastic, paper bags, glass, and more. And new packaging materials may be introduced in the future.
To ensure the label is effective, it should have what are called “security slits.” These are cuts on the surface of the label that tear if someone attempts to open the container, making it obvious the package has been opened.
And last, as with any food label, tamper-resistant labels offer marketers an opportunity. Restaurants should look for labels that can be used to provide date coding, company logos, taglines, web addresses and phone numbers, as well as other customized information.
Read more about tamper evident labels here.
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