New Jersey, Wine Can Now Be Delivered to Your Doorstep!

Posted on May 16, 2012 by kginter

Just 38 states allowed home deliveries of our favorite wines up Until April 30, 2012.

On May 1, 2012, that number became 39. Purchasing and receiving wine by mail order is now officially legalized in the state of New Jersey. The new law allows New Jersey wineries to sell their wines online and ship directly to consumers. In addition, residents of New Jersey can now have wines from other states shipped to their homes. Previously in NJ, wineries could only sell from their showrooms or through wholesalers and retailers.

The new law is likely to raise wine sales, benefitting New Jersey wineries and retailers.

What are the Rules of the New Shipping Law?

  • As of May 1, 2012, any New Jersey winery can ship up to 12 cases per year to any New Jersey stat­e resident who is of legal drinking age (21 years or older.)
  • Any New Jersey winery has the option of applying for a direct shipping license in any of the 38 other direct shipping-permissible states.  License permitting, NJ wineries may also directly ship up to 12 cases per year to an out-of-state resident of legal drinking age (21 years or older).
  • Out-of-state small wineries (producing less than 250,000 gallons of wine per year) can directly ship to up to 12 cases per year to NJ residents who are 21 years of age or older
  • Wineries can find shipping applications and instructions on the NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) website

In Which States is it Still Illegal to Ship Wine Direct?

  • AL, AR, DE, KY (felony), MA, MS, MT (consumer permit – no carrier), OK, PA (special interstate by 3-tier only), SD, and UT (felony for winery to direct ship). (Source: FreeTheGrapes.org)

More Wine Means More Wine Labels

If you’re a wine producer or retailer who is expecting to increase the volume of wine you’re shipping, you might consider printing your own wine labels with a QuickLabel printer. You can print personalized wine labels and labels for seasonal and special event wines, all at a low cost per printed label,! The QuickLabel line of color label printers allow you to instantly print wine labels in any quantity (even just one personalized label!) whenever you need them. If you’d like to see how easy it is to print your own wine labels, schedule a label printer demonstration at your winery or tasting room.

 

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Adelbert’s Brewery Taps Into Austin’s Craft Beer Market

Posted on May 15, 2012 by kginter

A Hoppy Sighting In Austin…

While traveling in the Austin, TX area, our Product Manager Kevin Brisson spotted some very unique-looking craft beer on the shelf at the flagship Whole Foods Store. Kevin saw Adelbert’s  Brewery Triple B, Scratchin’ Hippo, and Dancin’ Monk at Whole Foods  – wow that’s HUGE for Adelbert’s! He took a quick photo and sent it home for all of us to see – he knew how excited we would be because Adelbert’s Brewery prints labels with the Vivo! Touch color label printer!

Adelbert’s Brewery is an Austin-based microbrewery that just released its first round of bottle conditioned Belgian-Style beers to stores in December, and opened its doors to the public in March with a Grand Opening that featured beer sampling and live music.

How Does Adelbert’s Make Their Delicious Brews?

Adelbert’s Brewery has committed themselves to brewing Belgian-style bottle conditioned ales.  For those who aren’t sure exactly what “bottle conditioned” means, it is a process of unfiltering the beers so that the final “conditioning” takes place in the bottle itself, or the beer is filtered and then “reseeded” with yeast so that additional fermentation may take place in the bottle. It is Adelbert’s belief that such conditioning with quality ingredients and attention to detail during the brewing process make for the best brewed beers.

Adelbert’s uses Bohemian old-world floor malted barley – say that ten times fast after 2 or 3 of their Rambler Ales! They also use low alpha Noble Czech hops and fresh yeast that is produced onsite at the brewery. Adelbert has a five vessel brewhouse. Each batch of beer is conditioned for a minimum of six weeks, and three of the six weeks is spent in the fermentation vessels. During the next three weeks, the beer is conditioned in bottles or kegs, which allows natural carbonation and flavor development. Is your mouth watering yet?

What’s Brewin’ Now?

Right now Adelbert has five Belgian brews for your enjoyment:  Rambler Ale, Scratchin’ Hippo, Dancin Monks, Tripel B, and Naked Nun. Adelbert’s is also planning to release 2 more brews in May and June:  Black Rhino (Dark Ale) and Philosophizer (Saison Ale.) You can try these delicious brews in 750ml bottles, kegs, or on draft in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and other areas throughout Texas – keep your eyes peeled!

Congratulations Adelbert’s Brewery on a successful product launch and a very bright future. We’re happy to provide a labeling solution to a great company with such unique products. Your labels, just like your beer, came out great! Cheers!

If you’d like to keep up with Adelbert’s Brewery to find out about releases of new brews and brewery events follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

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An Historic Food Labeling Movement is Happening Now in California

Posted on May 8, 2012 by kginter

One of the trending topics right now among the food, labeling, and packaging industries is genetically modified foods. Consumer groups have reacted strongly to news of genetically modified salmon hitting the market, and retailers have banned Kashi cereal containing GE soy being from stores shelves because its “All Natural” label may be deceiving.

Should there be a new food label that flat out says to customers “GE free” or “This product contains GE ingredients?” California’s Right to Know Campaign thinks so.

California Right To Know Campaign

The California Right to Know Campaign is being run by farmers, health groups, and organic food manufacturers around the state. Their unified goal is to get the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act onto this November’s state voting ballot. In order to do so, they have collected and submitted over one million signed petitions.

Most recently the coalition began what it is calling a “money bomb” to raise upwards of $1 million to support the state GMO labeling campaign and to have as an arsenal of defense in the event that “biotech bullies” file lawsuits against them.

What Would This Act Mean for Foods Sold in California?       

If this Act were to make it onto November’s ballot and pass into law, food manufacturers in the state of California and food producers who sell their products in the state of California would have to identify any genetically engineered/modified ingredients in their product(s) on the product label. In addition, companies would no longer be able to make claims such as “natural” or “all natural” on their foods if they contain GE ingredients.

Biotech Industry vs. Right to Know Campaign

Members of the biotech industry are going to put up a fight of their own against the California Right to Know Campaign. Monsanto, the Farm Bureau, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and other corporate businesses involved in agriculture and food distribution are all raising their own funds to help prevent the California Right to Know Campaign from getting its proposal onto November’s ballot.

Just a Piece of a Much Bigger Picture

Did you know that California is the world’s 8th largest economy? I didn’t, until I read an article by Dr. Joseph Mercola in the Huffington Post. Although that may seem like a completely random factoid, it isn’t. Since California’s economy is so large, the potential impact of this proposed labeling law could be a major headache to companies who sell in California.

If food brands have to comply with state regulations for California, and with different federal regulations for the rest of the country, they will have to have a dual label that represents both laws. A dual label could become an “expensive logistical nightmare” for these companies (let me add: unless they have a QuickLabel printer that allows them to instantly change label designs and print new labels on the fly). Consumer groups advocate that the least costly and easiest solution would be to exclude all GE ingredients completely.

Mercola explained in the Huffington Post that, because of backlash, companies who have been identified as using GE ingredients will find themselves unable to sell. This is because consumers reportedly “quit” buying the products. If customers are going to stop buying, it would force companies to stop using GE ingredients – in Mercola’s idea of a perfect world. It is important to note, however, that these tactics did work in Europe and 40 other countries around the world. Who is to say that the same thing couldn’t happen here in the United States?

Coast to Coast Support

  • Vermont

Just over two months ago, the Vermont Right to Know coalition set out on its own mission to require labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in the state of Vermont. Thousands of grassroots supporters in Vermont and across the country joined with the coalition. The hard work of the Vermont coalition and its supporters paid off. On April 20, 2012, the Vermont Right to Know Genetically Modified Food Act was passed by Vermont’s House Agricultural Committee.

However, when biotech giant Monsanto caught wind of the bill in Vermont, Monsanto took action of their own. Monsanto threatened to sue the state of Vermont if the bill were to be passed. After Monsanto’s threats, Vermont put a hold on future on the Vermont Right to Know Genetically Modified Food Act.

  • Connecticut

In March of this year, the Environment Committee of the Connecticut state legislature  voted in a 23-6 decision to back the required labels for GMO foods. The Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the Connecticut Farm Bureau oppose the bill, believing that engineered crops are designed with benefits, and that the FDA, not states, should determine whether or not labeling should be mandated.

In addition to Vermont and Connecticut, the Huffington Post reported that nearly 20 other states in the US are also considering some sort of legislation for GMO labeling.

How Do YOU Feel About GE Labels?

Whether or not you are a Californian, do you think food producers should lawfully have to stop using GE ingredients or label their products as such?

Do you think that the California Right to Know Campaign will be successful?

What do you think of individual states taking on labeling battles instead of the federal government?

Other Recommended Articles:

Breakthrough Offers Promise of Improved GMO Testing

California GMO Labeling Initiative Headed for Ballot: Right to Know Campaign Turns in Nearly One Million Signatures

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Can You Believe Your Pet Food Label?

Posted on May 1, 2012 by kginter

As owners of pets we go above and beyond to spoil and take care of our beloved companions. From grooming them, to buying them new toys, to even feeding them the best food for their health – or so we think. It was pointed out in a Huffington Post editorial last week by Donna Solomon, DVM that the so-called “human-grade” pet food some of us may purchase for our pets is not in fact “human-grade” food at all!

Feeding Your Pet “Human-Grade” Food

"Made in a Human Food Facility"

Using the label claim “human-grade” is a way of saying that the meat you are feeding your pet is consistent with meat that is edible for humans. However, in the United States, “human grade” is technically a “government stamped approval” from the USDA. Dr. Solomon points out that even if a food manufacturer buys meat from a slaughter house that was originally intended for human consumption, the moment that meat leaves the slaughter house bound for pet food consumption it becomes inedible by humans.

But why, if it is the same meat a person would eat?

The simple reason is that the USDA does not have jurisdiction over meat intended for pet food. Once that human grade meat is in the hands of a pet food manufacturer, it is out of the hands of the USDA and into the hands of the FDA. However, the FDA does not have jurisdiction over meat products.

So, since the USDA cannot and does not inspect pet food manufacturing plants, it cannot be officially determined that the food meets human standards.  So, the dog food you are feeding your furry friend at home is NOT officially “human-grade” or approved for your consumption – in case you ever wondered.

Other Terms Marketers are Feeding You and Your Pets

"Gourmet" Filets

There are a variety of terms on labels that have no legitimate legal standards backing them up. “Holistic,” “premium,” and “natural” have all become common labeling terms among pet food products, even without any official definition for these claims. In fact, Whole Foods openly admits that the terms that are used on pet food labels such as “premium,” “super premium,” “ultra premium,” and “gourmet,” are not subject to any particular standards. “They’re just yummy-sounding adjectives!” according to Whole Foods’ Pet Label FAQs web page.

But would consumers know that without reading the FAQ page on a pet food company’s website? Probably not.  These are terms used by the pet food industry to make their products more marketable and appealing to consumers. Who wouldn’t want to buy “gourmet” food for their pet?

On a side note, there is also yet to be an official law for “organic” pet foods. According to the FDA’s website, the USDA is in the process of developing regulations that would dictate what types of synthetic additives (vitamins and purified amino acids), will be allowed to be used in pet foods labeled as organic.

Understanding Terms on Pet Food Labels

"All Natural" Beef with Chicken

The average consumer will most likely not know that some pet food label claims are just “yummy-sounding adjectives.” If you are concerned about what kind of food you are feeding your pet and want to become better-educated about what products are on the market, please check out the following resources:

For pet food information that is regulated by the FDA prior to being placed on labels, check out their Animal and Veterinary page on their website.

Also, the Association of American Feed Control Officials provides a secondary backing to the FDA’s regulations along with more specific and focused labeling rules in terms of nutritional analyses and adequacy, feeding directions, and calorie statements.

 

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At QuickLabel, We Use Our Own Pronto! Barcode Printers to Automate the Label Printing Process

Posted on April 26, 2012 by kginter

At QuickLabel, we stand behind our label printers 100%. We have to – we use them ourselves! We know, personally, how using our Pronto! barcode label printers, integrated with a company-wide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system,  can make the packaging process much faster, more accurate, and more efficient.

12 Pronto! Label Printers at the QuickLabel Manufacturing Plant Packaging Department

For example, we use 12 of our own Pronto! 482 barcode label printers in our Packaging Department at the Media Manufacturing Plant located at our Rhode Island World Headquarters, where hundreds of our customers’ unique orders for labels, thermal transfer ribbons, and inks are manufactured, labeled, boxed, and shipped on-the-fly every day.

Marc Vadeboncoeur, Senior Programmer/Analyst in our IT Department, explained the Plant’s main label printing challenge: “Every single product must have unique descriptive labels, both on the item itself and on the outside box. So, the need arose to create a fully-integrated automated labeling solution that would produce accurate, top-quality product labels on demand.”

By automatically printing labels with data pulled from our ERP system instead of manually printing labels by having packaging staff enter data by hand, the Pronto! label printer offered the following solutions:

1) Decrease human error in label content

2) Decrease downtime caused by packaging staff having to type label content into software

3) Decrease downtime caused by label format changeovers

How Did QuickLabel Meet These Goals?

Marc Vadeboncoeur, Senior Programmer/Analyst in our IT Department

Vadeboncoeur single-handedly developed a custom program for the Pronto!s that pulls diverse product information from our internal ERP system. He also wrote a user-friendly “front end” software (also known as a graphical user interface or “GUI”) that allowed packaging staff to begin printing labels for each work order by simply entering the product’s part number. When this information is entered by the user, the Pronto!s automatically receive and print label content from our JD Edwards ERP system database.

“A Labeling System Integrator’s Dream”

“The Pronto! label printer line is a labeling system integrator’s dream,” boasted Vadeboncoeur. “The Pronto! printers join to our corporate network using their built-in Ethernet adapters and seamlessly attach to our IBM Power Systems enterprise server in minutes using the standard TCP/IP networking protocol.”

He continued, “In addition to the quick connectivity to our corporate server, each Pronto! printer comes out-of-the box with a built-in and robust web browser-based administrative interface that makes customizing each printer’s hardware settings fast and painless.”

“The devices are tightly engineered from both a hardware and software perspective, with a strong emphasis on simplicity of integration, ease of operation, and ongoing durability,” he said.

From Vadeboncoeur’s software developer’s perspective, he found that the Pronto! printers were also easy to integrate into existing enterprise systems.  “The “protocol” (or “command language”) that is used to direct the printer to generate labels is powerful, simple, and very easy to learn.” Vadeboncoeur continued, “Integrating 12 Pronto! label printers to receive label data from our corporate ERP system was straightforward and accomplished quickly with no limits on the types of labels that we can generate.” (allowing for custom graphics and fonts, etc.)

A Label Operator’s Dream, Too

Vadeboncoeur’s main goal was to create an intuitive experience that would empower packaging staff to quickly and easily print product labels and box labels for the thousands of media items that we sell.

The best part about incorporating this new GUI, according to Scott Kenyon, the Quality Assurance Manager for our Media products, is that there was essentially no training needed. “The GUI is pretty self-explanatory. Since it’s only one screen, there aren’t a lot of places to make errors.”

“Being able to access the ERP system through the GUI eliminated the need for our users to key in label descriptions or do math,” Kenyon continued. He also noted that being able to eliminate such tedious tasks helped to improve label accuracy.

Having an automated label printing system is perfect in an environment where many workers are not necessarily comfortable using computers.  “I think the users find it easy to navigate and extremely helpful,” added Kenyon. “They appreciate the fact that the use of this tool helps them eliminate typos.”

Simplicity is key in the Media Plant’s busy environment and the more workers can focus on the job at hand, the better. “The Pronto!s are easy to load and unload, and we’re not spending our time ‘babysitting’ the printers,” Kenyon said.  This has resulted in higher throughput in the Packaging Department.

Our Advice to You: the Pronto!s Offer Simplicity

If you’re looking to incorporate a label printer and integrate your own GUI, Marc Vadeboncoeur has one recommendation for you – simplicity.

“From a hardware and networking perspective, the printer must communicate seamlessly with whatever enterprise server is in use. From a software development perspective, instructing the printer exactly ‘what’ to print must be uncomplicated regardless of the programming being used.”

Vadeboncoeur believes the Pronto! is a perfect fit for what we needed to accomplish. “The Pronto! not only meets but exceeds all expectations for simplicity, making it the ideal solution for QuickLabel Systems’ own integrated in-house product labeling needs.”

The Pronto! 486 at the Soup Peddler HQ in Austin, TX

Want to See Another Successful Pronto! Integration?

For another great example of how the Pronto! has been incorporated into a business with a computerized database, watch this video about the Soup Peddler in Austin, TX. Before integrating the Pronto!, owner David Ansel  had to individually create and print labels for each food. Having a Pronto! reduced the amount of labor he was putting into creating labels for each product because he was able to integrate his point of purchase database with the Pronto! label printer and automatically print labels.

Want Your Own Pronto! Label Printer & Custom Software?

Our QuickLabel sales engineers can show you everything you need. Feel free to ask them to bring a Pronto! to your office or factory on the day of your choice at QuickLabel.com/demo.

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The ASC Introduces New Label for Responsibly Farmed Fish

Posted on April 19, 2012 by kginter

Do you try to buy foods that are sustainably produced and good for the environment? Well, if you’re a fish lover, you can soon buy farm-raised fish that is certified to be sustainable. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has introduced a new ASC label standard that certifies that seafood bearing its new logo come from fish farms that have met specific sustainability standards.

Coming Full Circle…

The ASC label is a nice complement to the Marine Stewardship Council label (the MSC) which is used to certify the sustainability of wild caught fish. According to the MSC website, “The MSC standards and certification requirements ensure that only seafood from a certified sustainable fishery is sold with the MSC eco-label and meet the world’s best practice guidelines for certification and eco-labeling.” Essentially the ASC label follows suit practicing the same benefits as the MSC except for the fact that the ASC certifies farmed seafood instead of wild caught.

Half of all the seafood consumed worldwide is now farmed, and it is also becoming more common that seafood sold in retail environments is farmed rather than wild caught. Now, with the ASC label in place, aquaculture producers are able to credibly demonstrate to their suppliers and consumers that the fish products they sell come from producers who “have worked to limit their impact on the environment.”

What to Look For…

The ASC logo uses a color scheme that combines both water and land, encompassing the whole of the fish farming industry. CEO Chris Ninnes described the ASC label logo as “a friendly fish with a ‘bold’ checkmark” saying it “shows very clearly that the purchase of the seafood product is a positive choice.” The ASC incorporated the keywords “certified” and “responsible” onto the logo to cement a positive message and accompany the visual cues.

Where and When Can I Purchase ASC Certified Seafood?

As of now, the first species to bear the ASC label will most likely be tilapia. The ASC is currently working on auditing fish farms in Indonesia and Honduras. Consumers in Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Denmark and England can plan on seeing the ASC label on retail packaging starting this summer. No word yet on when the labels will make their appearance in the USA. We’ll keep you posted!

For More Information on the ASC Label, check out the ASC website!

To learn how you can instantly print a label with the ASC certified logo onto certified sustainable seafood by printing your own labels, check out our line of in-house label printers.

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EU Organic Labeling Deadline Approaches

Posted on April 10, 2012 by kginter

Did you know that putting the EU Organic Logo on organic products sold in Europe will soon be mandatory? If not, now you do! This is key information for food producers in Europe, and also for food producers here in the US who ship their organic products overseas.

The Europe-wide symbol for certified organic products, known as the “Euro Leaf,” was first introduced in 2010 as part of a broader effort to support organic farming. Since then, Europe has been in a period of transition before adoption. But come the end of June 2012, the transition period will be over and products claiming to be organic that do not bear the correct EU organic logo and associated wording will be illegal.

Some of the Rules for Organic Labeling in the EU:

  • For products to be legally marketed as organic, they must be inspected by an accredited agency
  • Officially organic products must be made of at least 95% organically produced ingredients
  • The organic label cannot be used for a product that contains GMOs
  • If products are NOT “officially organic” under EU regulation, it is illegal to use label claims such as “organic,” “bio,” “eco,” etc.

For European products to be legally approved as organic, they must be inspected by an accredited association such as the Organic Farmers and Growers (OFG). The OFG inspects and certifies organic food and farming procedures across the UK. The OFG announced this week the risks that producers will face if the choose to not comply with the new packaging and labeling requirements.

OFG certification manager, Steve Clarkson, stated, “We have been pushing this message out to our licensees and ensuring all new labels we check and approve are compliant.” Clarkson continues, “But based on the feedback we are getting, we have concerns that the deadline hasn’t reached the ears of everyone who needs to know.”

So what does this mean for producers who have neglected to get certified or have yet to hear of the deadline? Well, not much according to Clarkson, “There has been no central alert or notification from the EU or Defra, but that doesn’t provide a defense for anyone who falls foul of the regulation.”

Your Organic Labels Must be Compliant by 1 July 2012

Come July 1, 2012 any product that is pre-packaged as “organic” in a EU member state that fails to carry the correct approved EU symbol will essentially be breaking the law. For more info on the EU’s guidelines for organic labeling you can check out the EU Organic Labelling website.

If you need to make a change to your label claims as a result of this regulation, you can easily update and  print your own labels with a QuickLabel printer. If you believe you comply with EU standards, click here to download a printable version of the EU organic logo.

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Spangler Candy Licks Lollipop Label Personalization with the Help of the Vivo! Touch Color Label Printer

Posted on April 3, 2012 by kginter

 

Is one of your favorite childhood memories of going to the bank or to the doctor’s office and receiving that free lollipop at the end? I know it is one of mine; it did make the trip worth it after all!  There’s a pretty good chance that the yummy pop you received was a Saf-T-Pop from Spangler Candy Co.

The Saf-T-Pop, named appropriately for its loop handle to prevent choking, is produced by Spangler Candy Co based in Bryan, Ohio.  I recently had the pleasure of visiting with the Spangler team at their Bryan world headquarters. Spangler VP of Marketing Jim Knight welcomed me and the QuickLabel marketing team into the Spangler family for the day.

Knight, who enamored us all with his Midwestern courtesy, also introduced us to the young and enthusiastic Mattea St. John, Spangler E-commerce Manager, and the down-to-earth Rich Trubey, Fulfillment Center General Manager. I knew the day was off to a great start when, to my delight, we were greeted not only with warm smiles, but with Spangler gift bags full of Saf-T-Pops®, Dum Dum pops®, Spangler Candy Canes®, and Spangler Circus Peanuts®. Yum!

You can see more about our trip to Spangler Candy Co. in our latest video.

Pop-ular Giveaways

Besides being the giveaway of choice at banks, doctor’s offices, restaurants, and salons, because of Saf-T-Pops “safe” reputation, they have always been a popular giveaway item among organizations that promote safety. The Saf-T-Pop gets its name from its loop handle, a safety measure that helps to prevent choking. Because of this – and because the cherry, orange, grape, and apple pops taste so good – police stations, hospitals, clinics, and car seat and seat belt safety programs have long given out Saf-T-Pops as a way to say “thank you.”

So, you might be thinking “how can an organization promote its message with Saf-T-Pops?”

The answer is: with personalized labels, of course!

A Sweet Solution for Printing Custom Labels  

But printing customized labels for Saf-T-Pop lollipops comes with a challenge. Spangler produces over 500,000 Saf-T-Pops per day. With packaging lines established for these high volumes, it would have been too costly for Spangler to break into them in order to produce custom packaging for smaller orders placed by organizations or individuals who want personalized giveaway items.

Well, Spangler Candy Co found the answer to its packaging challenge when it discovered the Vivo! Touch digital color label printer.

With the flexibility to print custom labels in short runs (aka smaller quantity batches), Spangler Candy has been able to use the Vivo! Touch digital color label printer to print custom labels for its personalized Saf-T-Pop orders without having to interrupt its main packaging lines.

Now Spangler has entered into a new market for candy and confections – personalized and customized lollipops. Personalization has become a popular trend, and with requests for customization coming from consumers, Spangler has been able to use the Vivo! Touch to make personalized Saf-T-Pops that reach new customers and open new avenues for sales. As St. John said, “The options are endless with the Vivo! Touch.”

Online Ordering Makes it Easy to Buy Custom Labeled Saf-T-Pops

With the Vivo! Touch label printer in place, Spangler was able to set up an “easy and intuitive” customized labels section on their website, said St. John. All you have to do is go to www.saftpops.com, click on Buy Online, upload a logo, photo, or other graphic from your computer, and you are good to go! You can preview the label on the website and approve it before ordering.

After each customer’s order is placed, an automatic email notification is sent to the Fulfillment Center and Rich Trubey, who is responsible for overseeing printing of the customized labels on the Vivo! Touch. Some of the popular customized labels he has seen since the program started are “It’s a Boy” and “It’s a Girl” labels and also voting issue labels such as “Vote Yes” or “Vote No.” Some of the other fun options that bring smiles to the littlest faces are “Happy Birthday” pops and “Congratulations!” pops for children. Parents love having the option to make a special gift for their child to have as a keepsake and to make memories with.

While we were at Spangler, I was able to see samples of custom printed labels that have been ordered. The “It’s a Boy” and “It’s a Girl” labels are adorable! The feature blue or pink “child’s” writing and cute little baby feet print! I actually ordered some for a friend who is expecting a little girl this summer!

Personalized Lollipop Fulfillment 

The first order Spangler received was for 50,000 custom-labeled pops. Spangler was able to produce the custom labels with ease, “the Vivo! Touch was fast at 3 labels a second, it kept up just fine!” shared Trubey, General Manager of the Spangler Fulfillment Center.

Using the Vivo! Touch color label printer is easy for Spangler. They simply place the customer’s logo, graphic, or other artwork into Custom QuickLabel, the software QuickLabel provides with the Vivo! Touch, and press print!

Pretty sweet huh? If you’re interested in ordering your own custom labeled Saf-T-Pops, swing by www.saftpops.com.

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Food Label Claims in Canada are Now the Consumer’s Responsibility

Posted on March 30, 2012 by kginter

The Canadian government announced yesterday that it was going to shave its budget by getting out of the business of “policing” marketing claims on food labels. In other words, the government will no longer verify claims on food labels such as “low sodium,” “low fat,” and the health benefits of antioxidants. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been responsible for protecting consumers’ well-being by investigating suspicious food label claims since 1997.

Why Is the CFIA No Longer “Policing” Labels?

Cutting label “policing” from the CFIA’s list of responsibilities is projected to save the Canadian government around $56 million in the next fiscal year. The reason for saving this money? The CFIA is going to put a projected $51.2 million towards strengthening their Food Safety program. The government will increase inspections of meat processing plants. This is high on the government’s agenda, most likely due to the deadly listeriosis outbreak of 2008. This will extend Canada’s original three-year commitment to improving Canada’s meat inspection system.

So, who will be inspecting labels?

The government has left the responsibility of validating label calms to… drumroll… the consumers.  The CFIA has set up a web-based verification program where consumers can go to make claims by directly contacting companies and associations to reach a resolution.  To me, personally, this is a challenge on a few different levels.

  1. How comfortable would you feel calling out a major company on their claims? Not to say that consumers aren’t educated enough, but we all know how hard it is to not be deceived by claims on the labels. And how accessible are these food companies, really?
  2. Some companies may take advantage of this extra, federally unregulated, freedom. Not to say that companies purposely make false claims on their labels but they may be more confident about making claims knowing that the consumers are the only ones regulating them.
  3.   As a consumer, how comfortable would you feel knowing your country is expecting you to do all the work to decipher food labels?

What is the Response So Far?

The president of Canada’s Agricultural Union, Bob Kingston, thinks the new policy amounts to “a total farce.” Kingston raises a point in the defense of consumers with food-related allergies or medical conditions such as Crohn’s disease and diabetes. He says that these people are at great risk without label claim regulation, and that the new policy is “hanging them out to dry.” Yet, Kingston wasn’t satisfied with the CFIA’s previous policy either, saying that the Agricultural Union finds “food violations all over the place” and that the CFIA “walks away from enforcing clear violations.”

An investigation in 2011 by Postmedia news found similar flaws that Kingston is also unsatisfied with. The investigation found that, even after inspectors found what they knew or suspected to be misleading or fraudulent claims on labels, they could not promptly get the product off the market.

Why? Postmedia points to “Ottawa’s slow, muddied approach to policing food labels,” and also to hurdles from company lawyers.

One member of the inspection staff in British Columbia said, “Large companies seem to be ‘getting away’ with claims and bad labeling. In general, major companies are only visited on a three-to four year cycle due to resources – clearly not acceptable.” This quote dates back to 2009 when the summary was prepared.

It seems that the trustworthiness of food label claims in Canada is already out of hand, and looking to get worse.

My questions for you are:

  1. Would you trust the brands you buy from to provide legitimate label claims?
  2. As a consumer, are you responsible to judge food label claims?
  3. Do you have the time, feel comfortable enough, or even want to contact food companies yourself if you want to investigate a food label claim?
  4. Do you think the hurdles to get labels changed or improved would be any easier for you as a consumer than they would for a government agency?
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Meet Chris Menke, Your New West Coast Based QuickLabel Technician!

Posted on March 23, 2012 by kginter

When we recently asked some of our Western USA customers to provide feedback on our service and support, we heard loud and clear that what you’d really like is a little more of our time – on the right time zone – and in person.

Thanks to that feedback, we would like to introduce you to your new local QuickLabel service technician – our own Chris Menke, now based in California! Chris will handle technical support, maintenance, and training for our entire line of QuickLabel color label printers, barcode label printers, and labeling software and accessories. While you will still be served by our Rhode Island headquarters and traveling staff of QuickLabel technical support engineers, Chris will add a permanent, local presence.

Even though Chris is just settling into his new home, Chris has already declared In-N-Out Burger as his new “go-to” lunch spot and is in search of a ’55 Chevy as his company car, the car from his favorite movie American Graffiti. I think he is fitting into the California lifestyle with ease, don’t you?

Before taking on this new position, Chris worked at our QuickLabel headquarters in West Warwick, Rhode Island. He held positions in our QuickPrint Label Printing Service Center as a printer operator and graphic designer, putting his artistic talent to work for our QuickPrint customers. Chris also went on to build and test label printers in our label printer manufacturing plant where he learned the ins and outs of our digital label printers. “This has given me extensive knowledge of how things work from the ground up.  The time I spent … has given me a solid foundation on how to troubleshoot our machines,” he said.

Chris grew up along the Rhode Island coast in the small towns of Narragansett and Wickford, RI. His father, International Sales Manager Eric Menke, tells us that as a child Chris attended “Clown College” where he learned to juggle. This assures us he’ll be able to juggle all of his projects out West with no problem at all! To round out his juggling skills, Chris also earned an Associate’s of Art Degree at the Community College of Rhode Island.

Another tidbit for you: he has a secret talent for drawing cartoons – in fact, Chris illustrated his own Christmas cards this year. If you’re planning ahead for holiday labels for next season, he might be able to give you some good ideas!

After growing up in Rhode Island, Chris is excited for the new adventure of traveling throughout the Western states to serve QuickLabel customers.  “I am most looking forward to the chance to travel, meet our customers in person, and see new parts of the US to get a better picture of what makes up our diverse country.” Chris can’t wait to test out the beaches and waters of the Pacific and soak in the perpetual good weather. “Being able to enjoy the beach year-round is awesome for a beach bum like me!”

Although Chris is extremely excited for this new adventure he will miss his family and friends as well as Rhode Island’s excellent Italian cuisine, “Goodbye veal parm and polenta, hello fish tacos and burritos!”

We are going to miss having Chris here at our Rhode Island headquarters, but wish him the best of luck in his new position supporting you out West as you print your own labels. We are confident that you will be in good hands with Chris, and we thank you for all of your feedback!

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