The print and
packaging industries across Europe are “in for a nasty shock” when European
Commission regulations come into force next month that are designed to help
consumers understand more about the food they eat. The strict new rules for
food packaging cover a multitude of requirements ranging from details of
ingredient lists, nutrition information and contact details, as well as the
food source and font size.
Many printers and
packers have been in the dark about the regulations that will have far-reaching
impacts on brand owners, end users and supermarkets, and that will change the
face of packaging across Europe. And for many, it will involve upgrading
standard business procedures to cope with the Euro directives.
The relevant
documentation comes under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, becoming applicable
from 13 December 2014, which will replace the current requirements for the labelling
of foodstuffs set out in Directive 2000/13/EC and the nutrition labelling
requirements of Directive 90/496/EEC.
Translated down to
the printer, run lengths are likely to become a fraction of what they were and
set-up costs for traditional flexo or litho printing will go through the roof.
Suddenly, digital print looks attractive and will become a “must have”
investment for thousands of printers across Europe, yet many won’t want to
invest in complete new systems, so that’s where Cambridgeshire, UK-based
Industrial Inkjet Ltd (IIJ) can help.
John Corrall is a
world expert and managing director at IIJ that develops tailored industrial
inkjet systems to customer requirements across the world – including for labels
and general packaging – and is the official sales and technical support centre
for Konica Minolta industrial inkjet.
He said: “Five
years ago we were engaged by one of the world’s foremost chocolate
manufacturers that was concerned by the impact of these new regulations. It
knew it needed to increase font sizes on its packaging. This meant it was no
longer possible to squeeze the text for more than one language on each package.
One language per package means more variation – shorter runs of different
artwork. It meant that run lengths would halve or quarter so they realised the
economic solution would be new digital production systems in house.
“Even though this
global brand purchased trial equipment it didn’t really progress beyond that,
which I take to mean that when the new regulations come in from December the
problem falls on the shoulders of the current external print suppliers. My feeling is that food companies regard it
as somebody else’s problem, so printers and packers and others in the supply
chain are going to be in for a nasty shock.
“The regulations
apply to the food producer, but, to me, it seems as if the right people don’t
know enough yet about the regulations and their widespread impact. Do they
care? Have they thought about the impact on the poor packaging suppliers?”
John Bambery,
Chairman of the BPIF’s (British Printing Industries Federation) Labels Group,
said: “Countless artwork has to be changed to meet the deadline in December.
Morrison’s is one supermarket chain that
went on record more than a year ago to confirm that it will need to
change 10,000 details on product labels alone. My take is that the only way of
doing it cost effectively is digitally, which creates a massive business
opportunity for those with digital equipment.”
He added: “While
many printers will be supplied artwork by their customers, some will be asked
to produce designs, and their designers need to be aware of what is acceptable
and what is not. I’ve raised questions relating to the liability printers faced
and it has been confirmed that the name and address of the producer of the
product has the legal responsibility for ensuring that the information on the
label or packaging is correct.
“As I understand
it, the UK has a voluntary code that complies with the EC rules. So if they
don’t comply they are not actually breaking the regulations as they haven’t
been enshrined into UK law.”
