Does Your Product Need Tamper Evident Labels

Almost 40 years ago in the 1980’s “over the counter” medications did not require tamper evident labels. Now in the 21^st century circa 2019, whether companies make prescription or non-prescription pharmaceuticals, furniture, electronics, food products and everything in between, their products include some form of tamper evident labels. They’re just good for business! Tamper evident labels do much more than warn customers that the product they’ve just purchased has been tampered with. Before we highlight the top 6 reasons why tamper evident labels are not only good for your business, and a basic necessity to any product-based company, lets take a quick look at how they came to be in the first place. Before sunrise on the morning of Sept. 29, 1982 a 12 yr. old girl woke her parents very early in the morning complaining of a sore throat and a runny nose. Her parents gave her one Extra-Strength Tylenol pill and tucked her back into bed. The girl was dead by 7am that day. An unintentional over-dose caused by “pill-popping” parents treating minor cold symptoms with drugs? Killer In A Bottle No. The bottle of extra-strength Tylenol pills had been laced (by a psycho killer who, to this day has never been caught) with one of the most, if not the most lethal chemical compounds in the world: potassium cyanide. That year, 6 other unfortunate individuals, mostly all from the state of Illinois, died of cyanide poisoning in what would later be known as, “The Tylenol Murders”.  The girl and the 6 other people would still be alive and well today if over the counter medications were protected with tamper evident labels back in 1982. Not only was the lack of tamper evident labels the direct cause of these seven deaths, it almost destroyed the Tylenol brand owned by massive company, Johnson & Johnson! Before the murders, Tylenol held 35% of the pain reliever market. After the murders, they held less than 8 percent!  Never again, even after winning its customer confidence back after several years of hard struggle, did Tylenol regain such a large share of its pain reliever market. Now pharmaceuticals and over the counter medications are all required by law to have tamper evident labels protecting consumers. Soon after, the food industry followed suit as did all other companies who sold anything that you could put into your mouth. And it wasn’t long after that where North American industries who had nothing to do with drugs or food and many others world-over, began to see the benefits of tamper evident labels.

What are tamper evident labels? 

Originally, tamper evident labels where seals intended to warn customers with a visual cue that whatever they had purchased, or intended to purchase right in the store had been tampered with by a break in the seal. As well, labels on these seals included the warning: “Do not use if seal has been broken.” Today high-tech has stepped in, and now tamper evident labels serve several important purposes, morphing into “quality protection” in various crucial areas.

What are tamer evident labels for?

Made of sophisticated plastics, they can be printed with barcodes and serial numbers. They can even be embedded with RFID technology (Radio Frequency Identification) that allow companies to inventory and track valuable information about their products. Equally important, they all but eliminate consumer risk. From a business standpoint, they are crucial in deterring theft and preventing unauthorized manipulation, protecting manufacturers, sellers and retailers from market loss and liability. Through barcode serialization, they can even identify the location of company products if a recall has to be made. Tamper evident labels may even include physical restraints such as shrink wraps in multiple layers which many people consider a pain in the ass to open and, “a little over the top”. In spite of this minor inconvenience, they’re here for the benefit of all of us. Tamper evident labels serve 6 essential purposes that most companies today, couldn’t exist without:

1. Eliminate consumer risk.
2. Eliminate manufacturer risk.
3. They protect brands.
4. They protect the reputations of each company that uses them.
5. They help to protect company profits and imperatively, from a business perspective…
6. They protect manufacturers and sellers alike from liabilities and expensive law suits.

Whether you’re in the business of processed foods, firearms, pharmaceuticals, furniture or anything else in between, give yourself and your customers the safety, protection and quality assurance of tamper evident labels. Contact Arrow Systems today to learn how you can start producing your own tamper evident labels to protect your products!