Tamper-evidence: thermoshrinkable capsules for product safety

We cannot rule out that there is a possibility the goods after they have been manufactured and released to the market can become defective. It concerns the product itself or its packaging and can cause harm to the consumers or a private company. The food and beverages, medicines, health goods are at high risk to be tampered with, so some packaging security is needed to be integrated to keep customers safe and company reputation inviolate.

What is tamper-evident packaging

Everybody wants to be assured that the product he or she is buying hasn’t been touched since it was packaged. That is why we trust the companies we are sure to provide safe goods. To make their products visibly intact for consumers, manufacturers may use tamper-evident packaging. It helps to prevent the product from accidentally opening. A tamper-evident package has an indicator if gapped can provide visible proof to the consumer that tampering has occurred.

Nowadays, there is a wide variety of anti-tampering technologies on the packaging market. The most used are:

1. Tamper-evident caps & closures. It is the most popular tamper-proofing method. The global caps and closures market is segmented based on raw materials (plastic or metal) and applications (food, beverages, healthcare, cosmetics & toiletries, pharmaceutical, etc.). It is mostly used for protecting glass and plastic bottles. Tamper-evident closures can include a tear-away strip or a pop-up safety button which allows the consumer to see that the package has not been tampered with.
2. Tamper-evident liners. They are commonly applied to drugs and cosmetics containers and other goods with long shelf life. Besides tamper-evidence characteristics seal liners keep the product from leaking and preserve its freshness. These liners are often made with adhesive multiple layer materials, so consumers should break them to gain access to the product inside.
3. Tamper-evident labels. This is a common tamper-evidence issue for the spirits industry. Such labels easily break when you need to remove the bottle closure. Moreover, they have an adhesive layer that when peeled will leave behind residue, thus enhancing its tamper-evident purpose. Tamper-evident labels form a seal over the cap to give a quick indication that the product is safe before being purchased.
4. Tamper-evident tape. It commonly has word markings to show the opening place that clearly indicates a package has not been altered. It has an aggressive adhesive layer that makes it difficult to remove but, if destructed, leave marks.
5. Thermoshrinkable capsules. It is the most inexpensive tamper-evident option. They are applied over a cap or a bottleneck and are common for food and beverage packaging. You can typically find such shrink capsules around the cap of the wine and spirits bottles, pickle or jam jars, oil bottles and other similar products. Thermoshrinkable capsule is a PVC or PET overcap that is put on the bottleneck. Next, a heating process is carried out with a heat tunnel or heat gun resulting in uniform shrinking of the ring around the closure. It is needed to break the tamper-evident neckband to open the cap.

Notable benefits of packaging inviolability include:

• increasing package security after the product leaves manufacturing
• reducing the risk of accidental leaks and spills during the transportation
• preventing product tampering or contamination
• gaining consumers’ confidence and business reputation.

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