Protect Your Products with Tamper-Evident Labels

Are you in the Food, Beverage, Cannabis, or Nutraceutical industry? Products in these industries are usually consumables and require some sort of protection, whether it be preventing leakage of liquids, or stopping someone from secretly opening and/or contaminating your product.

When selling packaged items, it’s important to make sure your products have tamper-evident product labels that make it apparent if the container has been opened, unsealed, or broken.

What is Product Tampering?

Product tampering is the deliberate contamination of goods after they have been manufactured. It is often done to alarm consumers or to blackmail a company. Both tampering itself and threatening to tamper are criminal offences.

As consumers, trust is put in companies to provide safe foods, beverages, and medicines. When tampering occurs, retailers generally remove the product from their shelves and issue prompt warnings to customers. Even so, consumer confidence is impacted and the manufacturer and retailer may suffer financially.

A wide variety of contaminants have been found in products that have been tampered with—mice, syringes, cyanide, needles, liquid mercury, and glass have all turned up in goods.

Tamper-Evident Labels: Uses and Benefits

Product tampering can pose a threat as detrimental to a business as it is to the consumer. The cost of product tampering to a company can be high in terms of removing products from shelves, damage to the reputation, and restocking fees.

How Tamper-Evident Labels Work

Tamper-evident labels form a seal over the cap of a product, indicating if the item has been opened prior to purchase. Using tamper-evident labels is the best—and easiest—thing you can do to protect your products, customers, business, and reputation.

Just like any other custom label or sticker, tamper-evident labels can serve dual purposes. Not only is it serving as a method of safety, but it can also be used as an opportunity to include a QR code, barcodes, RFID, company logo, or social media icons.

Key Benefits

Labels can’t be reused after breaking or replaced, thus discourages tampering
Shows that your business cares about the integrity of your products and safety of the consumer
Reduces the risk of selling damaged products
Prevents leaks and spills
Protects your products and business reputation
Prevents product tampering, contamination, or theft
Helps build trust and confidence in consumers

Common Uses

Shipping: Securing envelopes, packages, and crates
Beverages: Over the opening and container of wine bottles and spirits
Restaurant and grocery: Carry-out containers or food delivery packages
Health and beauty: Products such as lotions, soaps, oils, or chapstick caps

FDA Requirements

According to the FDA, Tamper-Evident Packaging & Labeling requirements include:

Ensuring packaging remains intact during handling up to retail display
Ensuring package cannot be duplicated easily—distinctive by design
Providing one or more indicators or barriers to package tampering
Placing labeling to be unaffected if the feature is breached or missing
Placing labeling prominently on the package
Identifying all tamper-evident features and any capsule sealing technology

Designing Custom Tamper-Evident Labels

Don’t put your customers, brand, and products at risk of contamination when the solution is simple! Tamper-evident labels and seals offer a simple and effective means of securing products for a variety of industries.

When choosing a custom label printer, make sure they are well-versed in the FDA regulations for your industry. Your tamper-evident seals should match the branding on the rest of your packaging, and should be created with waterproof and oil-resistant label materials.

In this highly competitive market, it’s critical to make sure you’re using the best product safety solutions possible!