Label Verification Saves Money & Food Manufacturers Reputations

Problem: With the growing awareness of food allergies in both children and adults alike, and the increasing importance of correct nutritional information for people with special dietary needs, proper labeling has become one of the most important facets of food production and distribution. According to a study by walletpop.com, “About one out of every four labels tested is inaccurate, WalletPop.com found, based on the findings of lab tests, interviews with food testing experts and government reports.” That means, 25% of what can be found in our cabinets and refrigerator is labeled incorrectly – a staggering figure!

When a retail grocer receives a two-truck shipment of milk from a dairy processing facility, every pallet is checked for the correct product labels. If even one pallet is labeled incorrectly, the entire shipment is returned to the distribution center and the product is deemed unsellable, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in loss for the processor. Grocery stores are not alone in their policy, as other major and minor retailers have begun to adapt this no-tolerance approach. Additionally, local and state governments have entered the discussion and have begun passing new legislation to protect the consumers. Recently the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food released new regulations in their Food Label Review Program, saying “Label
reviews help new producers avoid costly reprinting of incorrect labels and lessens the possibility that regulatory agencies in other jurisdictions will take mislabeled product ‘off sale’ for labeling violations or omissions”. This leaves dairy manufacturers and distributors in a quandary as to how to effectively enforce quality control while also keeping costs down.

Solution: Integrated Packaging Machinery developed a vision inspection system that is not only cost effective for the dairy processing facility and user friendly for their workers, with virtually no human interaction during use. The system identifies even the smallest inaccuracies and quickly segregates the suspect product from the finished goods. If 5 consecutive defects are flagged, the entire line can be stopped to limit costly waste and rework. Whether a label is missing, jammed, crooked or simply inaccurate for the product being run, our Label Verification System catches it. The worry of sending even one pallet of incorrectly labeled milk is completely negated – let alone a truckload. The IPM Label Verification Systems have a small
footprint and can be adapted to any manufacturing line, and are used for a wide range of applications including: labeling, cap detection, date code verification and much more.

Result: IPM Label Verification Systems were adapted by Dean Foods and Kroger for their dairy lines in 2010, resulting in long-term cost savings and enhanced relationships with their retail partners. Product that is incorrectly labeled in any way – never makes it off the line.