{"id":5147,"date":"2024-07-09T15:11:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T12:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/?p=5147"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:46:11","slug":"qr-labelling-preventing-mislabelled-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/qr-labelling-preventing-mislabelled-food\/","title":{"rendered":"QR Labelling: Preventing Misllabeled Food Packaging"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Mislabelled or unclear food labels and packaging, pose a significant threat to consumers with food allergies, as highlighted by recent research from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gs1uk.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">GS1 UK<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gs1uk.org\/insights\/press-releases\/over-half-of-UK-allergy-sufferers-have-had-a-reaction-from-mislabelled-or-unclear-food-packaging\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">study<\/a> found that <strong>56 %<\/strong> of people that have experienced allergic reactions, was due to incorrect or confusing labels. To address this issue, GS1 is promoting the use of <strong>next-generation barcodes with QR code<\/strong>, which can be updated in real-time to ensure accurate and accessible product information.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/qr-labelling-preventing-mislabelled-food\/#Over_Half_of_Allergic_People_in_UK_Affected_by_Mislabelled_Packaging\" >Over Half of Allergic People in UK Affected by Mislabelled Packaging<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/qr-labelling-preventing-mislabelled-food\/#Urgent_Need_for_Clear_and_Consistent_Labelling\" >Urgent Need for Clear and Consistent Labelling<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/qr-labelling-preventing-mislabelled-food\/#UKs_Achievements_on_Next-Generation_Barcodes\" >UK\u2019s Achievements on Next-Generation Barcodes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/qr-labelling-preventing-mislabelled-food\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Over_Half_of_Allergic_People_in_UK_Affected_by_Mislabelled_Packaging\"><\/span><strong>Over Half of Allergic People in UK Affected by Mislabelled Packaging<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A substantial <strong>60 %<\/strong> of shoppers with allergy-related dietary requirements rely on in-store product packaging to learn allergen information, yet <strong>only<\/strong> <strong>24 %<\/strong> always find the ingredients or warnings they need. Distrust in the information provided on labels is notably higher among those with food allergies (12 % compared to 7 % among those without), while the main consumer concerns include <strong>label accuracy, vague language<\/strong>, <strong>small text<\/strong>, and a <strong>lack of provisions for specific needs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Over half of the respondents in GS1\u2019s survey attributed allergic reactions to <strong>misleading<\/strong> or <strong>unclear labelling<\/strong>, with<strong> 23 % <\/strong>experiencing multiple reactions. This uncertainty leads to significant <strong>anxiety<\/strong>, with <strong>7 in 10 individuals feeling nervous<\/strong> about eating food not prepared by themselves or a close family member.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Urgent_Need_for_Clear_and_Consistent_Labelling\"><\/span><strong>Urgent Need for Clear and Consistent Labelling<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The research also reveals widespread confusion about what Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) terms like \u2018<strong>may contain<\/strong>\u2019 and \u2018<strong>free from<\/strong>\u2019 mean. Many consumers believe that \u2018free from\u2019 means entirely free from specific ingredients, which is <strong>not<\/strong> <strong>always<\/strong> the case. Additionally, there is no clear definition of \u2018may contain\u2019 among manufacturers, and PAL is voluntary, with no legal or regulatory guidance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5165\" src=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/QR-Labelling-Preventing-Mislabeled-Food-Packaging-1.jpg\" alt=\"QR Labelling Preventing Mislabeled Food Packaging\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/QR-Labelling-Preventing-Mislabeled-Food-Packaging-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/QR-Labelling-Preventing-Mislabeled-Food-Packaging-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/QR-Labelling-Preventing-Mislabeled-Food-Packaging-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"UKs_Achievements_on_Next-Generation_Barcodes\"><\/span><strong>UK\u2019s Achievements on Next-Generation Barcodes <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As found in GS1 UK\u2019s research, people with food allergies are more likely to be influenced by detailed product information available via <strong>QR codes<\/strong> (<strong>83 %<\/strong> <strong>vs. 58 %<\/strong> of those without allergies).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response to this mislabelling problem, GS1 UK <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gs1uk.org\/standards-services\/get-market-ready\/qr-codes-powered-by-gs1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">piloted<\/a> <strong>next-generation barcodes<\/strong>, which combine <strong>linear barcodes<\/strong> with <strong>QR codes<\/strong>, to address these issues. QR codes can be scanned in stores and at checkouts, providing <strong>instant access to comprehensive product data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Collaborating with <strong>over 50 brands<\/strong>, including leading UK retailers like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tesco.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tesco<\/a>, the company is accelerating barcode adoption and preparing for point-of-sale scanning.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Accurate food labelling and accessible packaging information are crucial for consumer safety, and particularly for individuals with food allergies. The adoption of next-generation QR codes offers a promising solution, providing detailed, real-time product information that can save lives and reduce anxiety for people suffering from allergies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mislabelled or unclear food labels and packaging, pose a significant threat to consumers with food allergies, as highlighted by recent research from GS1 UK. The study found that 56 % of people that have experienced allergic reactions, was due to incorrect or confusing labels. To address this issue, GS1 is promoting the use of next-generation&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-new-tech-en","category-28","category-542","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5147"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5168,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5147\/revisions\/5168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}