Developing anti-counterfeiting measures: The role of smart packaging

Abstract

5Counterfeiting of food and beverage products is rife and premium brands are often targeted 6 by fraudsters. Such is the case with Scotch whisky, a global, reputable brand revered for its heritage 7 and tradition. Using Scotch whisky as a case study, the aim of this paper is to review existing literature 8 and industry information to determine the market and personal consequences of counterfeiting 9 activities and consider the packaging related anti-counterfeiting measures that can be employed within 10 a wider anti-counterfeiting strategy. A typology of counterfeiting activities is developed including: tear-11 down counterfeiting, product overruns, malicious activities and document counterfeiting. Anti-12 counterfeiting measures are used to deter, detect and control counterfeiting activities and different 13 packaging related approaches include the use of smart covert and overt technology. Most smart 14 packaging-related anti-counterfeit technologies are stand-alone systems and this presents a 15 vulnerability. An integrated anti-counterfeiting measures strategy, employed by business, the supply 16 chain and the government is required to reduce the risk of the sale of counterfeit food and beverage 17 products.18

Afterglow of carbon dots: mechanism, strategy and applications

“…Thus, many efforts have been made towards developing advanced strategies to protect valuable items from being replicated. [132][133][134][135] Anti-counterfeiting labels are considered to be one of the most efficient ways against counterfeiting by taking advantage of high throughput, easy handling, and facile design, and thus have been widely adopted. CDs with room temperature afterglow characteristics offer a smart choice for use in anti-counterfeiting.…”

A Brief History of Whiskey Adulteration and the Role of Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics in the Detection of Modern Whiskey Fraud

“…Consequently, fraud, particularly in the distilling sector is causing increasing levels of concern. It is an incredibly lucrative business, with perpetrators profiteering at comparatively lower risk as the legal repercussions are much more lenient than those for other illegal activities, such as drug trafficking [21][22][23]30,35,43,44]. It is apparent that without a proper verification technique that derives from the beverage itself rather than some externally affixed marker or associated paperwork (e.g., blockchain), the system will always be vulnerable to the inclusion of illegal or otherwise non-compliant material [45][46][47][48].…”

“…Moreover, in recent years there has been an observable effort by researchers and stakeholders within the industry to develop new technologies and processes aimed at anti-counterfeiting and authenticity checking, supported by initiatives like the pan-European food integrity project [56]. Key to this effort is the development of sensors and rapid methods for the analysis of suspect products, particularly those that are field-portable and can be used at point-of-sale or distribution [44,53,57].…”

Radio-Frequency-Identification-Based Intelligent Packaging: Electromagnetic Classification of Tropical Fruit Ripening

“…Most of them are related to product freshness and the integrity of the packaging and are intended for temperature-, leakage-, and chemical (acidity, humidity, gas sensor, biosensor)-based applications. Even more innovative solutions are aimed at enhancing the packaging-user interaction [3] to accommodate customers' preferences and lifestyles by enabling anticounterfeiting measures [4], optimizing food's effective shelf life [5], identifying the most convenient time to eat food [6], and suggest cooking and preparation recipes. Suitable markets for this paradigm are those of fish, meat [7], cheese, vegetables, and fruits [6], especially the tropical ones [8], whose business impact is constantly growing.…”