Sherwood launches edible laser marking for food
revolutionary solution for laser marking edible products such as
fresh produce and hard-shelled confectionery.
The company claims that this new generation, patented additive allows a safe, high contrast image to be formed directly onto edible products. The process utilises a unique chemistry that reacts with a beam of low power laser light, changing colour, and thereby creating a positive image.
The concept also taps into the current drive towards enhancing traceability, with many sectors of the food industry increasingly turning towards 'on-product' marking.
DataLase Edible allows an expanding range of edible products, for example eggs and fruit, to be marked using CO2 lasers. The additives, which come in the form of a dry powder or water-based solution, are applied to the surface of the food product via a spray system or by tumble coating and then marked by a low power CO2 laser.
The coating undergoes a safe colour-change process, creating a high contrast, stable image that is produced from 100 per cent edible components. Due to the sensitivity of the coating to the laser light, only a fraction of the laser energy that would be required to etch or burn an image into the surface is used, preserving the integrity of the surface of the edible material being marked.
Traditionally fresh produce, for example fruit and some vegetables are identified using pressure sensitive pre-printed labels. Digital, variable data such as 'product look up' codes, best before dates and country of origin are increasingly required, making pre-printing and holding stock of all the variations an unwieldy and costly process.
These labels are also subject to a range of limitations, including a tendency for the labels to fall off the produce and leave an adhesive residue on the skin. In addition, it is feared that the labels harbour bacterial growth and may also cause a choking hazard to infants.
Additional considerations for the manufacturer include the high maintenance levels and production line downtime associated with print-and-apply technologies, plus issues related to maintaining printing apparatus and the high costs associated with replacing consumables.
In addition, counterfeiting and enhancing traceability are driving the industry towards 'on-product' marking. This often requires the use of data rich symbology such as 2D codes which can be machine verified. Such codes are required to be placed in very small areas with a precision beyond traditional marking techniques.
Sherwood claims that DataLase Edible addresses all of the above problems by offering a direct 'on-product' marking colour-change technique that removes the need for pre-printed labels. Additional benefits include the elimination of high energy consuming labelling systems, and lower overhead costs. The technique offers the manufacturer the ability to digitally mark data rich variable information with absolute precision.
By introducing this technique to the marking process, significant inroads into addressing the needs of the fresh produce markets can be met.
"DataLase Edible is set to revolutionise the marking of edible products, particularly fresh produce," said Andrew Jackson, applications marketing manager at Sherwood Technology. "Our preferred route to market is via direct licensing agreements, thus we are currently working with a number of partners in order to develop DataLase Edible into a complete solution for laser marking edible products."
