There is a growing expectation for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) production facilities to produce and package a much wider variety of products within the same site. In addition, expectations in code content have also increased.
Whether the facility produces food, pharmaceuticals or any other consumer goods, the scrutiny of safety regulations is greater than ever, with new code requirements requested on a regular basis. Where simple date codes were acceptable in the past, codes today may require country of origin, allergen or ingredient information, 2D Codes, bar codes, product identification numbers and lot numbers.
This new level of coding complexity from additional product and packaging types, together with new code regulations have led to more code combinations and a challenge for quality control. With many facilities producing different products on the same day and the same packaging line, more codes leads to additional
changeovers and increases the opportunities for coding errors. Entering the wrong code can be caused by simply pressing the wrong key, which can result in downtime of the line, product rework and potentially damaging and costly recalls. Therefore it is recommended to choose coding equipment with Code Assurance features that will help guarantee the easiest, most error-proof coding possible.