A Guide on Food Tamper Evident Labels
For consumer safety, it’s important that food items be resistant to tampering—or offer a clear indication if the product has been tampered with. There are several reasons a person may intentionally alter or contaminate a food product, ranging from theft to a simple desire to cause damage or perform a prank on social media. Unfortunately, this food tampering is dangerous for the consumer and bad for your business.
Tamper-evident packaging and labels are a great way to alert consumers that a product has been tampered with. According to the Food and Drug Administration, “A tamper-evident package is one having one or more indicators or barriers to entry which, if breached or missing, can reasonably be expected to provide visible evidence to consumers that tampering has occurred.” These seals or barriers should be distinctive and not easily duplicated by the public.
Of course, tamper-evident labels are only one consideration for your food and beverage products. There are many regulations and best practices that outline what type of information must be included on your custom food and beverage labels, including ingredients, nutritional information, use by date, instructions for use, your company name, and more. In some cases, you can print that information on a tamper-evident label and allow your label to serve double-duty.
Where Do We See Tamper-Evident Labels Being Used?
While tamper-evident labels and packaging have long been common on grocery store shelves, we’re starting to see more and more tamper-evident labels and seals on food delivery products, especially as more third-party businesses offer food delivery. In light of unsettling stories of delivery drivers who have sampled the food they’re delivering, restaurants and grocery stores want to ensure the food you order arrives safely.
Tamper-evident packaging can include special closures or tape, so it becomes obvious if the item has been opened. It’s a simple step food business owners can take to ensure safety and peace of mind for their customers.
What Are the Key Benefits of Using Tamper-Evident Labels?
Tamper-evident labels are simple and cost-effective, and they have a number of advantages:
- Safety and Peace of Mind: Consumers should be able to rest assured that the food they ordered is delivered without being tampered with. Tamper-evident packaging provides a visual indication that the food is safe and ready to eat.
- Builds Consumer Confidence: Consumers learn to trust you and your business, because they know their food is protected and it’s not being messed with between the time they order it and the time it arrives.
- No Spillage: A tamper-evident seal or other forms of sealed packaging can help prevent spills, which avoids food waste and saves time and hassle for you, your customer, and the delivery driver. In addition to making it obvious if someone has tampered with the package, these seals can also help prevent packages from opening accidentally.
- Promotes Food Safety: A secure seal can prevent dust, dirt, and airborne contaminants from getting in contact with the food.
Are Tamper-Resistant and Tamper-Evident Labels and Seals the Same?
This is actually the source of quite a bit of confusion, because tamper-resistant and tamper-evident are not the same thing. A tamper-evident seal, label, or packaging offers visual evidence if the product has been tampered with. For example, a shrink band around the top of a bottle would be missing if the product had been opened, or a label sealed over the lid of a bakery clamshell would be ripped. If those seals and labels are intact, you know the product is unaltered. There are also tamper-evident tapes that leave behind residue; that residue is your indication that the tape has been removed and replaced.
Tamper-resistant labels and packaging, on the other hand, are intended to discourage tampering by making it time-consuming or difficult. These types of packaging make it much harder to tamper with a product, but they may not leave any tell-tale signs if someone takes the time to fight through the tamper-resistant package.
Both types of packaging and labeling have their place in food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and more. However, tamper-evident packaging may be more beneficial. Even though tamper-resistant packaging makes it harder to tamper with a product, it’s not a foolproof system, and if tampering does occur, the consumer might not be able to tell. Tamper-evident packaging gives the consumer a visual way to confirm the product has or hasn’t been tampered with.
NADCO’s Custom Adhesive Food Tampering Labels
For decades, NADCO has been a trusted supplier of custom printed tapes and labels, including custom food labels and tamper-evident labels. When you work with us, you enjoy:
- Superior Custom Capabilities: Your project starts with our in-house design team. We collaborate with our clients to create custom solutions that match their unique specifications.
- Reduced Lead Times: From design to full-service manufacturing, we keep the entire process in-house so we don’t waste time waiting on parts from other facilities. This allows for efficient production and reduced lead times, and it boosts our accountability.
- Consistent Quality and Service: We’re committed to upholding strict industry standards for quality, and because we’re not bouncing your project back and forth between vendors, we can control the level of quality and service—it will meet the same high standards every time you work with us.
- Customization: This is our specialty! We can manufacture tapes and label products up to 20 inches wide in materials like vinyl, film, metal foil, cloth, and more, and we can print a four-color process or up to seven spot colors.
With a creative research and development team that can help you develop a new product and a customer care team that treats every client like family, we’re equipped to help you with all your adhesive needs. Contact us for more information on custom food labels and tamper-evident labels, or request a quote for your project. If you can imagine it, NADCO can make it stick.
