Among the recalled product data it is seen that food occupies the highest percentage in that. It is around 21.7%. The reasons behind these are due to contamination, wrong labeling, missing the regulatory information on labels, etc.
The FDA corporation keeps making changes and updates related to the regulatory requirements of the product. And that’s why manufacturers need to keep following the changes without any mistakes. It takes a lot of effort to do so but one simple mislabeling incident can cause a lot of trouble.
Recalls can happen for the smallest reasons which will end up in loss of money, time, efforts, customer support, etc. And that’s why there’s a big need for a lable management solution. The biggest reason for such recalls is the lack of management for the labeling processes as it is complex and includes a lot of information, changes, etc.
If manufacturers start using the right labeling management option that can save the brand from a lot of troubles and possible. In the market, there are multiple options available for that. In that way, food labels will always be up to the regulatory requirements
Challenges for the food labeling process
As the business needs to grow more with time some challenges need to be passed by the brand. These challenges are: –
Customer Preferences
Customer loyalty can’t be taken for granted as they buy what’s in their budget, requirement, and unique to them. Packaging plays an important role in selling any product, especially in the food department. As if it looks good it will enhance the taste as well. Customers expect multiple things from the manufacturers like low prices, high quality, more options, etc which can be challenging to fulfill every single time.
Sustainable Choices
Thinking for the environment is no more just a responsibility towards the environment, it’s a trend where companies try to create a positive image in front of customers. Consumers prefer something that is also sustainable to the environment and to do so manufacturers also go for sustainable packaging ideas. This can be costly and
problematic as there’s no perfect sustainable packaging yet which is high quality, cheaper, unique, etc.
Competitive Market
If a company produces a product soon there will be similar products maybe with more advancements. Food is something that has the maximum competition in terms of manufacturing as it’s the basic necessity and skill which is much in demand. It has a lot of competition which is always a straining situation for manufacturers.
Digitally Transforming The Labeling Process
For the labeling part, a standardized and well-controlled method is important as in having a centralized web-based development managed. This will store all the labels and their history safely. There are various labeling printers available in the market and if they are used according to the needs of the business, this can be a big step in labeling management. Manual data entry errors can be decreased if the direct labeling printing method is used along with the master data. By this, there will be a visible decrease in the upfront investments which are made to gain standardization in the project.
Improving Accuracy And Efficiency
For every project, multiple label variation has to be created which will be needed to type manually in the end. This process will consume a lot of time and effort. The reason for this will be disconnecting the label printing environment. This will cause a lot of errors in the production which will eventually disturb the efficiency of the whole project.
If a label management solution is used it can store all the information in one single location which can also help in identifying the errors in the labeling process. With that single source, all the data or information can be previewed before starting the printing process.
Improving Cost Efficiencies
Using label management software can help increase the efficiency and productivity of the employees for the project. It will also save a lot of time and effort wasted by the employees due to lack of planning or management. Also, digital transformation decreases the need to manually type the data entry part which utilizes a lot of time.
In the case of most food and beverage companies, IT technology and corporate support are used together. But the IT support is not necessarily needed and can be easily replaced with the labeling management system.
Labeling For Future
As there are so many options available there is more demand for uniqueness and something new every time which is creating pressure on manufacturers. Along with the regulation related to industry also keep changing with time, customers asking for more transparency related to product and all the possible information on the label portion.
Wrapping It Up!
Regulatory changes are made for the safety of consumers where new situations keep happening like finding new allergens, side effects, sustainability requirements, etc. A manufacturer has to cope up with the changes to make sure customer loyalty is still maintained that. Labeling plays an important role in that as it shows transparency that’s why proper labeling management solutions are needed for the process.