We are not against labeling, but it can be postponed for six months – Unilever
In addition, according to the representative of Unilever, printing houses are also trying to solve problems associated with erasing the code and peeling it from the film.
We remind that last week the company announced that it could suspend the production of ice cream for 10 days.
‘Due to the current situation, we have decided to suspend the production of ice cream on the Russian market for about 10 days. We do not plan to completely close the production: we will continue to work on the lines that produce ice cream for export,’ the company said.
As for the problems faced by manufacturers in the framework of the introduction of mandatory digital labeling, the press service reported the following:
‘Today, we and other market players are under tight deadlines. Currently, Unilever is rapidly upgrading the components of each production line. In particular, cameras for reading codes from packaging are installed at all production facilities. There is still a problem of delivery and installation of equipment on the line, and we have 20 of them in two places: in Tula and Omsk. Commissioning work on the installation of the equipment will be completed only on July 1,’ the company said.
In addition, Unilever added that partner-printing companies reported that the start date of industrial code printing was shifted several times due to poor print quality, which requires additional equipment adjustment to improve.
‘We planned to work with two printing houses, the installation of equipment in one of them began only two weeks ago, and both printing houses reported a problem with erasing the code after application. In addition, partners from printing houses faced a shortage of raw materials for the production of packaging,’ noted in the press service.
The company added that at the moment, the IT infrastructure is being finalized to ensure work with labeled products.
‘Unfortunately, the development of software that would meet our requirements takes quite a long time and may not be ready by June 2021, and the need to implement additional improvements will lead to an even greater increase in the preparedness period,’ said in Unilever, noting that the launch time of the project was chosen very poorly - at the height of the season for ice cream makers.
According to the representative of the company, it would be better to start in autumn, after the high season, when factories have planned shutdowns that do not affect sales.
‘We are in almost daily contact with CATD and together we try to speed up the installation and configuration of equipment as much as possible both at our production sites and at our packaging suppliers. In addition, we are working together with CATD on the possibility of implementing changes to the system for automatic data transfer to the State information system for monitoring goods and ensuring traceability in the internal systems of the enterprise,’ said in Unilever.
At the same time, the company stated that with the active participation of CATD in the process, the operator does not have ready-made solutions, despite the introduction of labeling in other industries. According to the representative of the press service, there are too many technical specifics in the ice cream industry, and therefore, the experience of labeling in the pharmaceutical industry or labeling fur coats and shoes is of little use.
‘Unilever does not oppose the labeling of products as such, but indicates the difficulty of meeting all the requirements in such a short time. According to our calculations, an additional six months could significantly improve the situation,’ said in the press service of the company.
Earlier, CATD hinted that if the producers of cheese and ice cream are not ready on time, they are "to blame themselves", as the operator and integrators gradually introduced the process and offered various options for solving problems, in particular, a list of ready-made printing houses, the unpreparedness of which is referred to in Unilever.
At the same time, the company notes that establishing communications with other printing houses would complicate the preparation process, the terms of which are already limited.
‘For any company, changing the packaging supplier is a fairly long process, associated with the reliability check, tender, approval of new specifications, as well as the testing process. And, as in many other aspects, the transition time to an alternative supplier takes more than six months, which also did not allow us to meet the deadline,’ concluded in the company.
Since June 1, the mandatory digital labeling of dairy products in the cheese and ice cream category has started. Since September 1, products with an expiration date of more than 40 days will be added to the process, and since December 1 – products with an expiration date of less than 40 days.
It should be noted that today the producers of cheese and ice cream have already reported problems in the system "Honest Mark".
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