Easy online purchasing methods have made buying products a breeze, but that convenience has thrown open the door to brash new methods of theft and property damage. Many types of businesses rely on tamper-evident labels in the battle against these crimes.
What is a tamper-evident label? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines it as “having one or more indicators or barriers to entry which, if breached or missing, can reasonably be expected to provide visible evidence to consumers that tampering has occurred.”
For a long time, tamper-evident labels have protected electronic, pharmaceutical and luxury goods, but as malicious consumer behavior and high expectations thrive in the post-pandemic world, more businesses use the labels to prevent costly theft, protect brand image and give customers peace of mind.
A Safe Path to Your Table
In the aftermath of COVID-19, food manufacturers and vendors must conform to strict safety standards to keep customer confidence. Tamper-evident labels play a major role in those efforts. More and more, vendors that many of us rely on use these labels—on takeout containers and pizza boxes, for example—to reassure customers that the food they eat is safe.
A Healthy Stay
It’s no surprise that most of today’s travelers have a heightened concern about cleanliness, so a majority of companies in the hospitality industry employ brightly colored tamper-evident labels—affixed to freshly cleaned hotel room doors, for example—to send a clear message about hygiene that enhances customer confidence about personal safety.
Protection Against Skimming
In June, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 430, which is intended to bolster security at gas pumps by combating credit card skimming schemes.
Skimmers are electronic devices that criminals attach to gas pumps and other payment terminals to steal a consumer’s credit card information. The illegally obtained information is usually used to make unauthorized purchases.
The legislation, which went into effect July 1, gives gas station owners until January 1 to add a list of security measures, including, as the bill states, “new pressure-sensitive security tape over panel openings.” Customers are cautioned that if a tamper-evident label over a lockable door on a gas pump is broken, the pump might not be safe to use.
Stopping Illegal Shopping
For online clothing merchants, few things are as troublesome as receiving a return and discovering that the garment has been used or abused … or it’s not even the same product the customer purchased.
Clothing retailers need a way to protect their merchandise from “wardrobing” – the practice of buying clothes, wearing them, and returning them. An increasing number of companies loop a durable security tag through merchandise and seal both ends with a tamper-evident label.
Upon receiving an item, a customer sees a prominent message on the tag: “Returns accepted only if security label remains attached.”
How Tamper-Evident Labels Work
One way that tamper-evident labels work is with hidden print layers. The label itself includes a print layer that leaves behind a clear warning that the package has been opened, often taking the form of text reading VOID or TAMPER EVIDENT.
Some tamper-evident labels use special printing that is impossible to realign properly after the package has been opened. If someone opens the package before purchasing, customers can tell that tampering took place by the misaligned text.
Tamper-evident labels that have security slit die cuts and perforations make it difficult or impossible to remove the label or packaging tape in one piece. Customers can easily tell a package was opened by observing the remnants of the label that didn’t come away cleanly.
Tamper-evident labels are an inexpensive way to secure products from tampering, theft and even terrorist activity, protecting a company’s bottom line in the process.
Our team of security specialists is available to speak with you and share our expertise to help your company prevent threats.
