Tamper evident packaging is now becoming important for the India’s food and beverage industry. Not only does tamper-evident packaging prevent the tampering or theft of food intended for your customers, it also creates peace of mind for you and may protect you from liability.
Epilogue
After a viral video of Zomato’s delivery boy eating food from customers’ packages and repacking them to deliver, many e-commerce retailers in India became keen on using tamper-proof packaging. Especially the food and beverage industry, which are very particular about the freshness of servings, cannot compromise on the quality of food with respect to increasing sales.
What is the Zomato Delivery Boy Incident? Zomato’s agent opens the food packages, eats them, and then seals them back up to deliver them.
After apologizing for a human judgement error, Zomato promised tamper-proof tapes on all its food and beverage packaging. But any retailer or supplier can become a victim of such instances. The simplest and most effective solution available to us is to use tamper-evident tapes.
Following the debacle, food tech players Zomato launched Zomato Safely Sealed, 100% tamper-proof packaging to add an extra layer of security to food deliveries.
Zomato Safely Sealed comes in two variations to fit different-sized boxes. The versatility of the packaging design allows for efficient utilization of the space, and the transparent body allows users to check the packaging of the food. The safety seals are made of a single polymer with a thickness of 50 microns and are completely reusable and recyclable.
This packaging by Zomato is 100% tamper-proof — once the food is sealed by the restaurant, the packet can only be opened by cutting off the top-end strip. The site not only cautions its consumers not to accept the delivery if the safety seal is open, but also emphasizes this to them via their various communication channels.
What Is Tampering?
Food tampering is defined as the intentional alteration or contamination of a food product or package. Tampering with food sometimes occurs with the intent to steal, perform a prank, or just cause damage. Food tampering has the potential to be hazardous to both customers and the food industry, and it can sometimes result in serious illnesses. Using tamper-evident packaging is the best way to prevent food tampering and protect your products, your customers, and your business.
Where Tamper-Evident Packaging is used
No matter what kind of material it may be, tamper-evident packaging always has the explicit purpose of warning consumers against potential harm, while sometimes also providing additional protection to products themselves. With a better understanding of what exactly tamper-evident packaging is, it’s equally important to know the goods and industries that benefit most from these materials. Among these are products that require extra security in order to stay safe for consumer use or consumption.
Foods, drinks, medications, medical supplies, hygiene and self-care goods, vitamins, and other items are included. Items in each of these categories have a direct influence on a person’s health and well-being. Furthermore, the advantages of tamper-evident packaging for both consumers and companies are numerous. It leads to safer items, lower damage rates, higher item quality, fewer recalls, more consumer loyalty and trust, and more.
“Mithai and Namkeen Magazine” will take a look at the best tamper-evident packaging materials and discuss the use, application, and benefits of each. Our goal with this article is to bring under your knowledge about the options for tamper-evident packaging so that you can choose the right material for your products.
Tamper Evident Packaging Materials, Types, Uses and Benefit
For F&B industry tamper-evident packaging materials are a must-have for. From induction seals to shrink bands, there are many different types of tamper-evident packaging materials.
1. Shrink WrapShrink wrapping is a contemporary and efficient packaging technology that has evolved in the past few decades, enabling firms with the most practical packaging
solutions. While packaging, the products are wrapped with a heat sensitive shrink film and with the help of a heat source, the shrink film is made to shrink and fit tightly to the dimensions of the product, thereby giving a safe and secure package from dirt, dust, humidity and environmental influences while in transit or in store.
In food industry, specific packages are required for different forms of food right from fresh fruits & vegetables to frozen foods; from sachets of spices to tetra packs of coffee, tea, milk and spice powders; containers of solid food ingredients to liquid ones as well.
Dry packs of food powders, flour packets, containers of food ingredients like asafetida, spices and tinned foods, packs of chilled products like paneer, butter, cheese, soft drinks, tetra-packed goods and non-chilled products like coffee & tea packets and chocolates can be suitably and comfortably unitized for safe transit. All kind of food packets in different sizes are suitably shrink wrapped with the appropriate model of the shrink wrap machines. This ensures that primary packaging is given a safe holding in bunches and lot sizes as per the requirement of users for proper storage and transit.
The widely used Heat Shrink film for secondary packaging is the LDPE shrink film or Low-Density Polyethylene shrink film and Polyolefin Shrink film, as they are more beneficial than others. There are numerous types of shrink films that are manufactured as appropriate for different products that varies in responding to heat, food grade fit, shrink capacity, shrink force, shrink orientation, resistance to tear etc.
LDPE shrink films have proven for higher packaging speeds, higher tear resistance, appropriate shrinkage properties and high holding force.
Polyolefin shrink films are known for their more flexible storage, excellent shelf appearance after shrinking and certain composition is even FDA approved for food contact for primary packaging. Shrink film manufacturers claim that Polyolefin is one of the most favoured shrink films for packaging products due to its amiable properties to heat shrinking. It can withstand wide range of temperatures without any changes in its property.
Tamper-evident labels can be used on any takeout container, making it easy to pair them with the packaging. Once a label is placed over a package, it can’t be unsealed without leaving a visible, evident mark of tampering.
Tamper evident consumer packaging labels on food items go a long way in assuring the authenticity of the items. Many times, consumers tend to open the pack and sample it. In such cases, customers will refrain from opening the packet.
Tamper-evident labels are not made with some superior material or anything super expensive. It’s the technique of using them that makes them function.
If a subscription box contains food packaging from different brands, the main packaging can have tamper-evident labelling. This space can be used to print the logos of all food product brands that are included inside the box along with your store’s logo. Moreover, you can print personalized messages for all your customers.
Tamper-evident labels are placed in a way that covers the opening of the food packaging. In the case of beverages, a perforated shrink band is used over the neck and cap areas. When the bottle is opened, the shrink label has to be torn at the perforation.
3. Tamper Evident Takeout Containers
Containers with tamper-evident seals are common in convenience stores and fast-casual restaurants. Prepared foods like sandwiches and salads are placed inside the container, and the lid is tightly sealed. The lid cannot be removed without tearing the seal and indicating the container was opened. Additionally, some tamper-evident containers come with built-in tampering protection. When opening these tamper-evident products, the hinge will tear, providing a visual indication that the container has been previously opened and possibly tampered with.
4. Tamper Evident Delivery Bags
These tamper evident bags are ideal for no-contact delivery and takeout and protect food containers as well as other items such as condiments, napkins, and plastic cutlery. After placing all of the takeout items inside the bag, it is sealed with a tamper evident bag seal. The seal’s adhesive folds over the top of the bag, completely closing it. With tamper-evident sealing, the bag cannot be opened while in transit, and all items will arrive safely at their destination.
Tamper-evident tape is designed to provide extra protection and security when transporting large products. When shipping items like cartons, crates, and large boxes, tamper-evident tape keeps your items sealed and prevents them from being prematurely opened. Once the tape is removed, some indication will be left behind, alerting the recipient that the item has been opened. Typically, the indicator takes the form of a hard-to-remove residue that states “OPENED”, providing a clear visual indicator that the item has been previously accessed..
6. Overwrap Packaging
Overwraps are pieces of plastic film that have been wrapped around a product and sealed with heat or adhesives. For example, the cellophane plastic covering on the box of mithai is an application of over-wrapping used on various products. Over-wrapping gives the product an air of cleanliness, protection, and quality. Overwraps also provide an opportunity for branding because they can be printed with multiple colours, text, and visual components for branding purposes.
Over-wrapping differs from shrink film in that the over-wrap is wrapped around the product. After the overwrap is placed around your product, the flaps of the plastic are tucked in and sealed by a machine. Shrink film, on the other hand, is plastic that shrinks to form around the product packaged via exposure to a heating element such as a shrink tunnel.
Compared to shrink wrapping and other wrapping styles, overwrapping provides a cleaner, sleeker appearance and a more professional finish.
Through the use of flexible materials and custom sealing, overwrapping allows for the following benefits in the food industry:
- Aroma Control,
- Tamper Protection
- Extended Shelf
- Reduced Costs
- Ease of Use
- Custom Promotional
- Eco-friendliness
7. Lidding Films
Lidding films have been a staple of tamper-evident packaging for quite some time now. If you have ever eaten yoghurt or bought over-the-counter pain medication, chances are you removed the lidding film before consumption of the item inside.
Lidding films can be made of plastic, metal, or bio-based materials and are used on numerous products. For example, when you buy a tub of yoghurt, after you remove the plastic lid, there is usually a lidding film made from aluminium underneath.
Some forms of lidding films use MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) to keep your products fresh for as long as possible. You see MAP applications in lidding films primarily for mithai, bakery & canned dry fruits, fresh fruits & vegetables, meat, poultry, and fish.
8. Resealable Stand-up Pouches with Tear Away Lids
Stand up pouches first made a name for themselves in the B2C market in the 1980s/90s, with an obvious shelf appeal for the well-known Capri-sun brand of children’s drinks. Since then, they have come a long way and are fast becoming the chosen flexible packaging material for countless products from thousands of brands. Everything from industrial hemp to granola, candy to toys, and millions of other items in between can now be found packaged in resealable pouches.
9. Induction Seals
Induction seals are packaging supplies made from thermo-plastic materials heated by induction. You will commonly find induction seals on the inside of pill bottles. Generally speaking, it will be a multiple-material lid (most often aluminium, wax, paper pulp, and plastic) with a piece of plastic protruding from the top, which is meant to be gripped and pulled to remove the seal from the bottle.
Induction seals help to prevent tampering, leaking, and preserving freshness, as well as keeping dry products moisture-free.
Induction sealing is widely used to cap sauces, dressings, ketchup, mustard, seasonings, peanut butters, snacks, nuts, pretzels, powdered drinks, teas, sports drinks, coffees, teas, orange juice, milk, and many other similar products.
10. Tamper Evident Wrapping Strap
For shipping pallets, boxes, crates, and other types of containers, tamper evident strap employs a security seal. Once you have applied this tape to a surface, it cannot be removed without triggering tamper evidence.
Indian food and beverage Industries take on Tamper Evident Packaging
Ice cream Industry
The ice cream industry, like Amul, Mother Dairy, Havmor, Vadilal, or Cream Bell, uses tamper-evident packaging as food safety is paramount in the ice cream market. The large number of touch points during a product’s journey from filler to fridge presents a number of opportunities for content access and/or damage. Additionally, the prevalence of sensational social media posts and viral ice cream tampering videos in stores, along with the proliferation of consumer home delivery services, are causing brands and consumers to explore options for increased package security.
A tamper-evident tab on the side brim of the lid and the tub is an excellent option for products. An example of this application is found on all the tub and tumbler packaging of ice creams, milk products, and mithai.
The most common types of tamper evidence within India’s frozen desserts and ice cream segments are a heat seal or membrane, a secondary shrink band, or functional packaging.
Heat seals
Commonly referred to as a freshness seal, the membrane is applied directly to the cup as part of the filling process. It typically requires special equipment, but the membrane can be printed and offers brands another chance to convey their message. The consumer would remove the overcap and heat seal prior to consuming.
Like the seal, the shrink band is a separate component but applied after filling in a secondary operation on a specialized piece of equipment. The clear plastic band can also be printed and would be removed by the consumer in order to access the contents.
Mithai and Bakery
Both Indians and people around the world have always made room in their diets for sweets. Traditional sweets that have been processed are becoming more popular for a number of reasons, including improved quality and safety, long shelf lives, variety, and appealing packaging. In this market, a number of players have established their positions by utilizing one or more of these factors.
COVID-19 has accelerated the industry’s adoption of digital marketing and delivery platforms, leading to new partnerships with organized retailers. There has also been a considerable shift from open and loose sweets towards packaged variants to mitigate the risk of infection. Moreover, continuous advancements in the packaging technologies for sweets, especially tamper-evident packaging, have enhanced the Indian packaged sweets market in the future.
The cardboard boxes have been used to pack the traditional Indian sweets for quite some time. But nowadays, the old cardboard boxes are now replaced by good-quality food-grade paper and plastic boxes with tamper-evident labels and tabs for beautiful tin-packs for liquid-filled sweets, giving a premium appeal to the product. Macarons are quite delicious, and many people love them. But they are quite costly to make and are fragile. This is why the macarons need a good packaging box to secure them from rough handling. So, tamper-proof macaroon boxes are specifically made for them.
The cake box having a window and the pastry box with the handle is in demand these days and all these are with taper evident tapes and labels. Cookie box is a round paper containers having a paper lid are normally used to pack cookies. Another alternative is to pack the delicate cookies is in a sealable plastic tray or pouches and utilize the branded paper box as the secondary packaging.
Donut Box – Easy to handle and carry, these donuts are getting popular to order them at home or in office, and also as gifting item.
Great mithai and namkeen packaging has become even more important — not only for performance, but also to ensure that mithai or snacks reach consumers in the most sanitary manner possible, with the fewest touch points possible. Better sealing promotes the export of these products, thus helping the growth of the industry.
Beverage Industry
Tamper-evident packaging is so common in the beverage industry that you probably take it for granted. You’ll find that most bottled beverages feature a twist cap, and you intuitively know if the cap has been twisted off.
Consumers in India not only want to spend their money on high-quality, great-tasting juices and sodas and mineral water, but they also want to be assured the products they are choosing for their families are safe to consume. Consumers want to know that products haven’t been tampered with after they’ve been manufactured. A very fast and effective way to show your customers you take food safety seriously is to use tamper-evident caps.
Bisleri, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tropicana, Dabur, etc. all use tamper-evident caps in their PET bottles. They are effective at alerting producers and consumers of potential tampering. For safety, caps are designed with a secured ring attached to the cap by a thin bridge of plastic. When the cap is unscrewed from the container, the ring is broken and two pieces of the cap are apparent. If there is any sign the plastic has been broken, it is an indicator the cap has been tampered with and the product may not be safe to consume. Warning labels printed on the juice bottles alert customers to watch out for broken cap seals.
Tamper evident technologies are available to protect your drinks or beverages while also adding a little something extra to your bottle design. Tamper-evident caps make protecting milk and juices easy. Caps can be screwed on by hand without the need for special equipment.
Another popular method of creating tamper-evident sealing comes from using an induction sealer. Though there may be variations on how an induction sealer works, typically a cap for the bottle or other container is supplied with a foil liner included. Once the bottle and foil-lined cap move through the capping machine, they will pass under an induction coil. The induction coil creates an electromagnetic field, which heats the aluminium foil. The heating of the foil also melts a wax that allows the foil to release from the inside of the cap. At the same time, a polymer film heats up and covers the rim of the container. This polymer will bond with the container as it cools, thus creating the seal and providing tamper-evident packaging.
As an alternative to using an induction sealer, many products may use a neck banding machine, taking advantage of shrink sleeves or bands. Typically, the neck bander will also immediately follow the capping machine on a packaging line. The neck bander works by simply applying a band or sleeve of film around portions of the cap and neck of a bottle. The film and container then pass through a heat tunnel, and the film shrinks to fit tightly around the neck and/or cap. This process again creates tamper-evident packaging; if the neck band is intact, the product has not been tampered with prior to reaching the end user. As an added advantage, neck bands can also be used for simple aesthetic value by applying decorative labels or bands around a bottle.
As noted above, these and other methods for creating tamper-proof packaging lines are most often seen in the beverage industry. For this reason, many packagers of these products take extra precautions to ensure the product will not be tampered with prior to reaching the customer. In some cases, these precautions are required by laws, regulations, or other rules.
Temper-evident caps seals in juices
Neck banding tamper evident cap in Rooh-Afza
Market Analysis of Tamper-Evident Packaging
The tamper-evident packaging industry is expected to expand at an 8% CAGR from 2022–2032, reaching a market value of US$ 3.8 billion by 2022, driven by the ballooning demand for food delivery and third-party delivery.
Tamper-evident packaging is a prerequisite for most food, beverage, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic items for consumer assurance, and there is an extensive range of existing technologies in the packaging industry that consumers can benefit from, such as tear-away bands on plastic closures, induction seal liners, and heat shrink bands.
Decorative tamper evident labels are gaining popularity as a way to add a tamper-evident aspect to existing stock bottles and closures components without redesigning them. New entrants are providing a modern approach to the food and beverage industry through high-tech product launches and partnerships. Fasicuchain is a blockchain platform enabling product tracking and tracing, while tamper-evident packaging solutions are used to prevent contamination and spillage and maintain the integrity of finished goods.
Intact tamper technology conveys the safety and trustworthiness of a finished product, but production errors can affect safety seals. Quality control and detection are critical to preventing products from leaving the production line and reaching the market.