Esko, one of the largest global suppliers of integrated solutions for the packaging industry, has released details of a comprehensive strategy for helping companies to adapt their packaging in the face of new regulatory compliance regulations on nutritional labeling. “We’re seeing a wave of new legislation being introduced as governments all over the world seek to educate consumers via product packaging,” said Philippe Adam, Vice President of Global Marketing at Esko. “For the food and beverage industry, as well as many pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies, this means keeping on top of all the various regulations and adapting their packaging and business processes accordingly. With our new, tailored solutions and smart software capabilities, we can help.”
The announcement from Esko follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declaring that they’re introducing a modernized Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods, with compliance required by July of 2018. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) subsequently proposed updated nutritional information for meat and poultry products. Regulators in other countries are taking a similar approach, with new guidelines on communicating nutritional information on packaging announced in Canada and France, with others set to follow.
Solutions designed to untangle complexities
Depending on the needs of each individual organization/company and where the target data is stored, Esko has devised three clearly defined solutions. Solution 1 starts with the brand owner, solution 2 starts with the artwork, and solution 3 is full-system integration. Each company can choose the solution most suited to its current situation and “be confident that they’ll optimize their nutritional labeling process and create a single source of truth.” For more information, please visit https://www.esko.com/en/solutions/packaging-management/fda.
In addition, Esko is releasing a unique feature that pulls nutritional fact data from existing packaging files (AI or PDF files) and converts this to a data stream that can be used on any other piece of artwork to automate artwork creation. This capability is expected to result in time savings of up to 70% for customers who have to convert all their tables to comply with FDA regulations. “It’s important that companies stay ahead of all new regulations and feel confident every single SKU they produce will have compliant packaging,” explained Adam. “Esko will continue to support clients with new templates into which centralized nutrition and ingredient information can be automatically placed. With our solutions in place, new regulations can just be an everyday standard part of doing business – and not an exceptional undertaking and disruption.”
Esko announces strategy to help clients cope with more nutrition label regulations
