Tesco has recently unveiled data embedded barcodes on meat products in its Jack’s stores, with an anticipated roll-out to further products and sites, leading the industry in a bid to reduce food waste.
Image: Tesco's data embedded barcodes. Photo: courtesy of OAL Connected.
Our label and date code verification solution is the only system currently on the market that can read the information contained within the barcode inline via existing scanners, protecting your packaging line from errors, emergency product withdrawals (EPWs) and product recalls.
A data embedded barcode is an extended 1D barcode that can store more information, such as the global trade item number, expiration or best before date and batch number, in addition to other attributes used at the point-of-sale e.g. weight. These data embedded codes can be ‘stacked omnidirectional’ with just two barcodes stacked, or ‘expanded stacked’, with three or more on packaging. However, the widespread introduction of these barcodes may pose a challenge, not only in printing them but also because traditional label and date code verification solutions cannot read them, which opens you up to the possibility of incorrectly labelled products entering the supply chain, risking consumer health, your brand reputation and your bottom line.
While ANSI grade verifying solutions can indicate the quality of the barcode and can read the information contained within, they cannot check that the details are correct before products leave the factory floor. Due to the importance of the information, you would be exposed to a huge risk as there is potential for a product withdrawal and associated fine if the products supplied cannot be scanned at the till or contain the wrong information, and in the new format, cashiers can’t even input the data manually to reduce the risk.
What’s more, as you will now be responsible for printing the barcodes in-house, with your own staff programming the printers, the room for error is significant. Our label and date code verification solutions are entirely independent of the printer so you are guaranteed a full and thorough check of the information within the barcode before it leaves the packaging line to reduce the risk of incorrect labels being released into the supply chain.
As we understand it, this capability hasn’t been incorporated into traditional inline scanners and therefore, although reading may be possible with other solutions going forward, we’ve already spent the time developing the solution to this challenge so you can deal with the new data embedded barcodes from day one.
“Jack’s meat products are already carrying the data embedded barcode in store, and from our discussions with manufacturers, the roll-out to further products and stores is likely to take place in the near future. It’s vital for manufacturers to consider their current label & date code checks and whether they are able to cope with the potential challenge posed by Tesco’s forward-thinking update.”
— Wayne Johnson, OAL Connected Director
Source: Company Press Release