Russian food retailer X5 Retail Group has said that it is testing three unique labelling technologies to ensure the consistent quality of its products.
X5 Retail Group is testing two types of colour-changing labels that warn if the required storage or transportation temperatures have not been maintained, as well as barcodes that prevent the sale of expired products.
Chameleon Labels
The Russian retailer will pilot the temperature-sensitive 'chameleon' labels which will inform customers and store employees if there were any temperature issues during transportation or storage. X5 highlighted the usefulness of this system for frozen products, as the ‘label will irreversibly change colour if the product thaws’.
The second type of chameleon label being tested will allow customers to keep track of a product's actual freshness. In order to accurately reflect the current state of temperature-sensitive goods, X5 will use special labels that change colour at different speeds depending on the temperature (at +4°C a colour-changing label will grow dark in six days, while at +6°C the process will take four and a half days).
This will not only ensure the quality of the product but also its safety with regards to consumption. It also helps employees to keep fresh goods on the shelves and address any issues with the storage unit in question.
Barcode Blocade
The barcodes tested by X5 will block the sale of expired goods. Together with several suppliers, the company launched a project to sell fresh and ultra-fresh products using the EAN 13+5 barcode with information on the product's shelf life. This will prevent the sale of expired goods, which will be discarded at checkout.
In a statement, X5 said that it is ‘committed to ensuring the safety and high quality of its products at each stage of their life, from production to checkout.
‘End-to-end quality control with the use of modern technologies is impossible without contributions from suppliers and producers, which is why X5 encourages and considers various technological improvements proposed by food producers to strengthen and automate quality control.’
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
