False "Green" Labeling may lead to lawsuits

According to a recent Wall Street Journal Article. (here) manufacturers are facing a "rising tide of legal and regulatory actions aimed at products pitched as "environmentally friendly".

Some of the actions arise from such activity as labels that imply their products have won some third-party seal of approval or touting products as "biodegradable" when there is little chance they would actually decompose in a landfill.

A large factor motivating companies to make such claims is that about 17% of U.S. consumers said in a recent survey that they were willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products, up from 10% last fall and 13% a year earlier, according to The Boston Consulting Group. The increase is likely a result of the improved economic outlook, the consulting firm says.

Sweden is to become the first country to label products "climate-friendly"

In a recent article New Scientist magazine reports that Sweden has begun a voluntary plan to encourage firms to prove they have reduced greenhouse gas emissions in order to earn the label.

A small milk producer north of Stockholm is expected to be the first company to sport the "climate-certified" tag. The program is designed to prompt consumers to buy greener products and may be replicated in other countries.

Read the full article HERE

FDA warns food manufacturers about misleading 'healthy' claims

FDA commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, on Wednesday sent letters to 17 major food companies demanding they take action against "false or misleading" labels. There are some implications that this demand may spread to additional companies over time.

See the full story at ABC News

2D Barcodes used to fight against counterfeit pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceutical Technology has an article about a pilot project launched by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations to test a new system designed to battle counterfeit drugs. The system involved using 2D barcodes, which enable pharmacists to test the legitimacy of each packet.

Click Here to read the full article at the PharmTechTalk blog

New EU Organic Logo

Food Navigator.com today writes that The European Commission has announced the winner of its contest to design a new logo to appear on all organic food and beverage products in the European Union: a leaf-shaped design from Germany that attracted 63 per cent of the votes.

This will affect any organic food labels going into the EU starting immediately, and be required on all such products by January 1, 2012.

Read the full story Here

New British Supermarket Labeling Requirements

According to the Telegraph.co Items sold in British supermarkets will need to be labeled to show there carbon footprint as well as country of origin and animal welfare standards.

"Tesco, PepsiCo and other leading brands are already displaying a "carbon reduction label" on certain products showing the amount of carbon dioxide produced in grams in growing the food, packaging and transportation."

Read the full article HERE

FDA to Enforce OTC Labeling Requirements in September 2010

The FDA News reports that as of September 2010 the FDA will begin enforcing requirements that over the counter drug manufacturers must include domestic contact information for patients to use to report serious adverse events associated with use of the product on the labeling. The rule has been in effect since 2007, but the FDA has not been uniformly enforcing it until now.

New Labeling requirements for printer ink cartridges

Anyone who has ever bought a replacement ink cartridge knows that that a few months supply of ink can sometimes cost more then the printer itself.

Not only are they expensive, but they don't even clearly tell you how much ink they contain. Well help may be coming.

The Kansas City Star reports today that the National Conference on Weights and Measures, a group of state weights and measures officials, plans to take up the issue at its meeting this month in Nashville, Tenn.

A decision by that body can have effects across the country.

American Label's New Blog

We will try to maintain this blog as a source of information on our Print on Demand initiative and all of our new technology we are employing as we move forward to meet our customers Digital and Flexographic printing needs.