Nissha Printing, a label and packaging printer and a half-billion-dollar company based in Japan, will use APDN technology in a project to protect the brands of highly valued fish and other products, recently victims of rampant counterfeiting. The new printing system uses ‘DNA ink’, derived from plant DNA, to mark and authenticate labels on high-value fish and other food products.
The company signed an exclusive agreement with APDN on October 31, becoming the sole provider of DNA ink products in publications and foods (fish and fruit) in Asia. APDN is already recognizing sales revenue from its relationship with Nissha and is looking forward to a stronger presence in Asia. This agreement compliments the existing agreement between Nissha and APDN and further strengthens the relationship between the two companies.
Using the new printing system, foods can be instantly verified as genuine in the field, using a special handheld detector to identify the anti-counterfeiting ink. This could happen at the point of sale, or at any point along the supply chain. As is typical of APDN DNA markers, a second, forensic level of authentication is also available by sending the suspect product to a secure lab.
The system is safe and non-invasive; foods are not altered.
Branded foods from particular and often well-known waters off Japan, and sometimes preserved with traditional, labor-intensive methods, are becoming popular, profitable and necessary in Asia. For example, sushi bars have become ever more discriminating, while ocean contamination and other issues beset the fishing industry.
Counterfeiters and diverters have moved in with force, selling common foods as the high-value brand, destroying markets and reputation of the real item.
Nissha identified APDN's technology as a suitable product authentication solution, stating its determination that DNA, as a trusted forensic form of authentication in courts around the world, provides the highest security for high value food and other products.
And Nissha views DNA protection of food as just the beginning. ‘No product is safe from the threat of counterfeiting, and this threatens public health and safety, especially in relation to food and other consumer products,’ commented Takao Hashimoto, director and chief technology officer of Nissha.
The new system, developed by Nissha in conjunction with APDN, can also package a wide variety of products with its forgery-proof, high security layer. The anti-counterfeiting DNA ink on labels can be delivered by various printing technologies, such as offset, gravure and inkjet printing.
Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, Nissha has more than 4,000 employees, 11 locations in Japan and 27 bases located throughout Asia, North America and Europe.
