Smart Labelling Methods and Techniques
Smart labelling refers to technologies that provide an item-level identity to products. Such technologies include 2D barcodes or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. The technology is called a smart tag when it is treated as a persistent identifier tied to digital records that can be updated, queried and validated across the supply chain. In practice, this means linking the barcode or the tag to databases, blockchains and traceability platforms that store origin data, processing events, quality certificates, cold-chain history and recall-related metadata. Intelligence within smart tags can increase by integrating monitoring functionalities using functional inks as well as printed indicators and sensors that react to changes in product, package, or environmental conditions with a visual colour change detectable by a mobile application when the smart tag is scanned. Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) that use package or label fiber structures, for example, as unique identifiers, offer additional functionality to increase the security features of smart tags.
In the Watson project, smart tags are presented not as a standalone label upgrade, but as an access key to a broader platform that couples product identity, shared histories, interoperability standards, and anti-fraud intelligence. The project has shown that tracking of individual items is already possible in most products, so placing unique identifiers on each item should be implemented quite rapidly. This enables track and trace, direct consumer communication, next level food safety and many other applications.
Research conducted during the Watson project indicates that consumers find it valuable when food items provide more than just nutrition values, such as item history, producer and production information, and traceability details. Therefore, smart tags increase consumer trust in the food chain and product quality.
WATSON
Ongoing | 2023-2026
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Other, Portugal, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, Belgium, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria