In-line quality control of product coding from Cobalt IS

Purpose - To show how the integration of standard sensors with software has produced a very powerful aid to food-safety compliant product labelling in the production environment. Design/methodology/approach - A review of the requirements of food labelling for traceability is followed by a description of the Cobalt Sentinel system for validating the packaging process. The advantages of biometric authentication over passwords for operator access control, and the installation and commissioning options are explained. Further, information is given about the range of sensors and software enhancements supplied by the company. Findings - Cobalt IS has a lot of experience with the hardware needed for high quality product labelling, and writes its own software to configure it to meet application requirements. The Cobalt Sentinel ensures labelling equipment is correctly set up for each run, and links to the factory network for further checks against the production scheduling database. It aims to pay for itself within 12 months. Originality/value - Informs food packaging companies of a practical solution to the increasing demands of regulation and customer expectation for food traceability.