Tracking and Traceability Solutions for the Food Industry

Our team of experts has developed effective solutions for the unique challenges related to marking and coding food packaging, all optimized to increase productivity, improve presentation, and reduce downtime. InkJet, Inc’s industrial equipment and ink enables you to print on a vast variety of porous and non-porous packaging materials, including:

• Plastic

• Paper

• Glass

• Cartons

• Cans

• Flexible Materials

• Rigid Materials

• Other food packaging materials

In need of a custom solution for your unique food packaging? InkJet, Inc. has over 25 years of experience in developing ink technologies. Get in touch and we’ll work with you to create custom ink designed for compatibility with your product. If you are currently using a printer from VideoJet®, Domino®, Linx® or any other OEM, we either have fluids for that machine or can create a compatible, and often better quality, ink.

Industrial Printers and Inks for Every Application

Our specialists have extensive knowledge of the requirements used in the food industry as well as the diverse technologies used in its packaging. We have cost-effective inks and print technologies for everything from the high-speed canning line and high tech, flexible packaging to the hand-pack out product line and old-fashioned carton marking. Even print directly on your food product with our food grade ink specifically formulated to follow FDA regulations.

Printers

• DuraCode Continuous Inkjet (CIJ): DuraCode is designed to deliver the best quality code, day in and day out, continuously. Our feature-packed CIJ printer offers cost saving with a single part service and solvent consumption saving system.

• Precision Series: For secondary packaging like boxes or cases and tertiary packaging like crates and shrink-wrapped pallets, check out our high resolution piezo printers.

• Anser Thermal Inkjet (TIJ): From the solved based U2 Pro-S to the versatile U2 Smart, the small footprint and cartridge based printers will keep your production moving.

HyperCook – Thermochromic Ink

Developed-in house, InkJet, Inc. HyperCook is a general purpose thermochromic ink used to mark metal cans and plastic pouches before retort. Its color changing capability is unique in the industry, designed to transition from green to blue during a 19-minute retort process – making it the most advanced thermochromic ink on the market. Learn more about our revolutionary ink HERE.

CIJ Food Grade Inks

Safe for human consumption, InkJet, Inc's food grade ink is manufactured in accordance with the USA FDA Good Manufacturing Practices and can be used to print directly on foods such as cake, candy, eggshell, vegetables, and more. Contact us for your specific printer or application.

Features

Features of our products important to the Food Packaging industry include:

• Low VOC inks

• Rigid/Flexible/Elastic

• Moisture/Chemical/Abrasion Resistant

• Direct and Indirect Food Contact

• Anti-Transfer

• Fast Dry

• Thermo Chromic/Color Change

• Re-Tort

• Aseptic Packaging

• Offset dates

• Barcodes and Graphics

• UV/Invisible Ink

Importance of Tracking and Traceability in the Food Industry

Tracking and traceability are growing in importance as the food supply chain expands in scope and complexity. As a result, public health concerns are demanding further measures be implemented to ensure food safety and security. Such concerns include a high volume of recalls, a higher risk of contamination due to a longer supply chain, and a rise in counterfeit products along with fraudulent activities. Being able to identify the origin of a product, its ingredients, and its path through the food supply chain is increasingly vital.

The use of tracking and tracing eases these public health concerns and monitors food safety through data collection. Tracing gathers a history of a product’s navigation through the food supply chain from beginning to end, while tracking creates the ability to follow the path of the product as it travels from the manufacturing plant to the final point of sale. InkJet, Inc’s industrial printers and ink can mark and code the following information on food packaging to aid in tracking and tracing:

• Tracking codes

• Best by/before date

• Batch/lot codes

• Barcodes

How Tracking and Tracing Help Companies Respond to Recalls

By implementing a tracking and tracing program, a company is better prepared in the event of a food safety concern. Recalls of food products happen daily, and the data gathered through this program helps formulate a timely, reactive response that can save a company’s relationship with their consumers as well as effective, proactive measures that can prevent future incidents.

Timely Reactive Response

An effective tracking and tracing system guarantees complete visibility and transparency throughout the food supply chain, allowing for the prompt identification of the affected products through marks or codes on packaging. This rapid response to a public health concern can aid a company’s quicker recovery and restore trust between manufacturer and consumer.

Effective Proactive Measures

Addressing a recall may also result in the formulation of preventative measures. Through tracking and tracing, a company is able to diagnose the root cause of the food safety issue, detecting the point within the supply food chain in which the problem occurred. Using this insight, a company may implement solutions to prevent the issue from re-occurring as well as new proactive measures to avert further safety concerns.

For more information about tracking and traceability supported through the marking and coding of food packaging, contact InkJet, Inc. today. Our experts are happy to help you find the printers and inks best suited for your product.