Importance of Food Packaging and the Role of Coding in Food Safety

Every individual is responsible for the safety of the food they eat to nourish themselves and live healthily. This was the case years ago when our ancestors gathered fruit, caught fish, and hunted wild animals to survive. Today, food is produced commercially, and every department involved in the production process is responsible for ensuring food safety. Currently, many of our food products are mass-produced and distributed to various parts of the world, ensuring that individuals have choices about what to eat or what is better for their taste buds. One of the reasons that allow for global food logistics is proper food packaging. Packaging has become an essential component in the food trade since its introduction. It plays a vital role in the preservation and protection of food. In addition, it plays an important role in communicating product information to the customer to avoid food-related issues, thereby promoting food safety. Before a product reaches its target customer after being packaged, the manufacturing company must ensure accurate information is communicated to its customers. This may include printing information such as nutritional facts, ingredients, production and expiration dates, barcodes, etc., on the product's packaging. This is where the coding and marking industry comes into play. Coding system OEMs must be able to support food production companies according to their requirements. Different types of food are processed and packaged differently; therefore, the coding requirements of each food manufacturer can be different and unique. Fresh food products, especially meat, fruits, vegetables, and seafood, are generally packaged with plastics - PE, PET, polyethylene, PVC, etc., paper, glass, and aluminum. Confectionery, snacks, and sweets similarly use plastic and flexible packaging films. Milk, dairy products, and other beverages are better stored in glass, tetra packs, and tin cans. Industrial coding printers must be able to print on these various materials to provide optimum service to food production industries. There are many cheap and low-cost industrial coding printers on the market that claim to provide basic printing; however, they fail to provide high print quality and long-lasting prints on the product. Since the permanence of the print on the product is extremely important for maintaining food safety, it is vital to pair the printer with the correct ink. Depending on the materials, there are various types of ink that can be used to print on the product. Coding devices must ensure compatibility with a wide range of ink options such as solvent-based, semi-solvent-based, pigment-based, water-based, or even UV visible and invisible ink types. Food products are likely to be exposed to various physical and environmental stresses during transport. Low print quality is prone to abrasion, increasing the chance of the product being discarded. Even worse, because production or expiration date information is not visible, clear, or legible, spoiled food products could accidentally be served to customers, endangering their health. Food manufacturers also use different packaging machines for different products. This requires coding printers to be versatile and mountable on all types of packaging machines such as vertical form fill and seal machines, horizontal form fill and seal machines, rewinding machines, or even manually or automatically operated conveyor lines. Since food production companies exist worldwide, it is important that the machine can be easily operated or used universally. The ability to be controlled and monitored using smart devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and computers is a great advantage for a printer, as people all over the world have mastered how these devices work. This reduces the time and hassle of training operators from scratch with strange new devices to control the printer. The role of the coding and marking industry in food safety is equivalent to providing the correct packaging material for a specific type of food for its preservation. A printer OEM providing the right solution to the food manufacturer...