4 minute read
NOT PARTICULARLY PRINT
Any Universal Vaccination Passport solution will need to have both a digital and physical element or it will not be fully accessible according to Martin Ruda, Group MD at the TALL
Group of Companies. His warnings follow the announcement of a number of trials of domestic and international digital solutions which are mainly focussed on proprietary apps and smart phone technology.
Martin explains: “The key to having a Universal Passport Solution is that is can be used by everyone, everywhere. Existing solutions being put forward all rely on countries having digitised medical records, which many do not, and require the vaccine certificate to be accessed on a smart phone that not everyone has. Little thought has gone into having a secure physical document beyond the use of a QR code which will work equally well, if robustly encrypted, on a secure document as well as a mobile phone screen.”
“A successful solution will need to provide secure connectivity to a tangible, and universally accepted, document that is verified against the core authorities’ data, in our case the NHS.”
His comments come as concerns are being raised in Israel, who has almost completed its vaccination programme, about the ease of getting a forged vaccine certificate. According to media reports a black market for counterfeit vaccination certificate is already thriving on Telegram, where more than 100,000 users have joined groups that offer the forgeries at a price.
However, Martin is confident that the technology needed for a strong physical solution for this already exists.
“Concerns around fraudulent documentation in developing countries is commonplace, one example being the risks perceived around the forging and counterfeiting of ballot papers in national and local elections. Our secure printing solutions support the requirements of the Ugandan government to address this, and closer to home the use of encrypted QR codes protect the UK’s cheque payments industry in its move from paper to digital cheque clearing. This technology can readily be used to create a small physical vaccine passport that immutably supports and integrates with a digital solution which we have the capability to deliver.
“Our strategic partnership with Digital Cognate has helped us solve the issues regarding interoperability, integration and absolute trust in the digital source, as a result we are hoping to get a place at the table to discuss this with UK government and urge them not to try and reinvent the wheel. We have developed the necessary technology and it is tried and tested!”
www.tallgroup.co.uk
ARE YOU READY FOR NATASHA’S LAW?
BY DAYLE GUY, PRODUCT MANAGER, EPSON (UK) LTD
From October 2021 accurate labelling that clearly communicates allergens
will be a legal requirement under Natasha’s Law. The law is being introduced to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence in the food they buy.
Currently food prepared on the premises in which it is sold does not have to display allergen information. Natasha’s Law will change that.
It will require pre-packed food, sold on-site or off-site, to be individually labelled with a full list of ingredients and highlight allergens in the ingredients list. They can be identified by any suitable method including bold, italic, UPPERCASE and colour.
Offering a complete onsite labelling solution that supports businesses as they prepare for the new legislation is Epson’s ColorWorks Series of colour label inkjet printers.
It includes the ColorWorks C3500 that can easily customise and print small to medium volumes of colour labels. It features individual pigment ink cartridges that support fast drying, highly detailed labels that are smudge, water and fade resistant. The food safe pigment ink is long lasting, durable qualities make it perfect for a wide variety of environments.
There is also the ColorWorks CW-C6000 that supports media widths, from 25.4mm to 112mm and boasts a wide range of media including textured paper. It can print anything from tiny labels for vaping liquid bottles, to large durable labels that are suitable for chemical drums. It offers high quality, high resolution, four colour print output as standard; along with colour matching functionality for impactful, on-demand colour labels.
Wessex Labels Ltd has invested heavily in its own Tolarus NutriLabel software that excels in the management of full colour digital print. Fully compatible with Epson’s range of ColourWorks label printers, it is a proven tailored solution to meet the requirements of Natasha’s Law.
As either a standalone system or linking with external software platforms like the established Saffron Food Management System, Tolarus NutriLabel has inbuilt capabilities of automated allergen read and display control features.
Wessex Labels is currently working with a number of potential partners in offering a cloud based version of the Tolarus Nutrilabel system which should assist in helping its clients manage over 1000 of their own individual customer sites this year.
These solutions respond to the public’s greater focus on analysing food labelling and demand for responsive and dynamic high quality labelling and packaging. Food producers can also enjoy their ease of use, content flexible inhouse digital print capabilities with software that ensures the right information is reliably reproduced.
To find out more about Natasha’s Law please visit
www.gov.uk/government/news/natashas-legacy-becomes-law www.epson.co.uk
