Blue Earth Foods, UK - Label and date code verification
Blue Earth Foods is a major supplier of chilled seafood products to retail supermarkets throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. OAL has worked with the rapidly expanding business since 2009 providing autocoding across their packaging lines.
Challenge
Like the whole of the food industry, Blue Earth foods were facing increasing pressure from retailers to guarantee that all packaging and date coding was correct.
Correct packaging and data coding prevent product recalls and withdrawals that not only jeopardise their customer relationships but also have high fines associated with them. A robust and expandable system was needed to eliminate these risks whilst minimising any disruption to food production.
The key elements of the data code and labelling challenge at Blue Earth Foods were as follows:
Similar packaging because many of the products fell within the same ranges
High variance in date codes because of short life on products between production runs
Printed top webs with no barcode identification on them could be incorrectly used on another product
Packaging format, thermoformed trays, printed top web & base label
Blue Earth achieved date code and label verification with minimum disruption to its manufacturing operations. Since rolling the system over further lines, there has been 100% data and label verification with no associated product withdrawals or recalls.
“From a technical point of view, OAL understood not only our needs but our customers’ needs as well. This was an invaluable asset that facilitates joint decision making. The system is easy to use and gives you peace of mind and reassurance that the correct dates and packaging are on the product. ”
Solution
Blue Earth foods chose OAL because they understood the tried and tested Autocoding system being offered meant that they could achieve correct date code and packaging verification with minimal disruption to production.
For Blue Earth Foods convenience, OAL deployed the Autocoding system in a staggered approach. Initially, two lines, a central product database and supervisory software were installed. This minimised interruption to production and gave Blue Earth flexibility to roll out the system to remaining lines when required.
For the first phase, 2D barcodes were added to the film & labels. This gave full version control over the packaging to product checks, even when a standard 1D barcode was not printed. Omni-directional scanners were used to check the 2D codes on film and 1D codes on labels which meant that all potential challenges highlighted were solved.
“The installation team were easy to get on with and very obliging. They already know the food industry and its standards and as such managed the installation accordingly to eliminate product risk and line downtime”
Want to automate your label & date code verification? Get started with OAL Connected!
At a glance
Customer since: 2009
Challenge
Risk of packaging error from human errors
Reliance on paper-based manual checks.
Multiple retailer customers with over 280 SKUs and allergen risks.
Solution
OAL Connected installed across 5 packing lines
24/7 support contract with audits to ensure retailer code of practice compliance.
Results
Zero packaging errors and improved customer relations.
Removal of manual systems and paper-work
