Recent recalls of products from tainted produce to toothpaste have sent shock waves through consumers across the country. Suddenly concerned that the nation's food chain is not functioning to provide adequately for their safety, consumers are becoming more selective in product purchases. At the same time, some business owners have been forced to close their doors for good following long recall processes. The losses to the tomato industry alone are estimated at $100-450 million from the most recent Salmonella outbreak.
In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year some 5,000 people in the United States die due to food-borne illnesses, with most of those deaths coming
from the consumption of tainted vegetables. It is also estimated that 10 percent of all pharmaceuticals sold are counterfeit. Many are harmful, containing toxic ingredients or are being
produced by sub-standard processing. Many designer labels, from high-end Champagne to fashions, are counterfeited and applied to products that do not meet the standards of the genuine
manufacturer.
StrataTrace, a labeling technology created by Pensacola-based Label Technique Southeast (LTS), Inc. provides the answer to limiting much of the danger and lost revenues from such product
recalls and brand piracy. Anyone along the supply chain can efficiently and quickly track and trace tainted products or identify counterfeits with this labeling technology, according to
Joan Wallace, LTS owner and president.
"We at LTS saw a global need for a better, more efficient and cost-effective system for tracing food contamination worldwide," she said. "From tainted crops to counterfeit
pharmaceuticals, lives are lost each year, not to mention billions of dollars in revenue. StrataTrace is the most flexible and affordable food safety tool available to brand owners,
giving them outstanding return on their investment."
StrataTrace, developed over more than two years and at a cost of over $1 million, combines multiple labeling technologies to create a unique multi-layered approach. This includes such
areas as food safety, production authentication, time and temperature monitoring, and product traceability. It is perfect for growers, processors, distributors and consumers.
Introduced in 2007 at the "Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit" in Washington, D.C, StrataTrace remains a unique tool that can benefit the producer of any product that
might need to be traced or authenticated. From cantaloupes and pharmaceuticals to the makers of designer merchandise, anyone who produces a distinctive product and requires either
protection from counterfeiting or traceability will benefit from the use of StrataTrace. At the same time, it will bolster consumer confidence, especially at the dinner table.
"The flexibility and adaptability of StrataTrace is one of its strongest features," said Wallace. "Our labels use a variety of methods from microtaggants and microtext to different forms
of bar codes to create a labeling platform that is custom-designed for the job at hand. We at Label Technique Southeast also have the advantage of being a 'flat-line' company that can
respond almost immediately with whatever modifications our customers desire.
While StrataTrace has multiple uses for multiple products, it is with the food chain where the earliest applications were seen. With StrataTrace, producers have the ability to create a
seamless supply line that can be tracked and traced very quickly, a key component when food-borne toxins enter the food-production and delivery chain. For example, Wallace points out that
in 2006, when an outbreak of E. coli bacteria in spinach caused 250 people in 26 states to fall ill and resulted or contributed to several deaths, it took authorities 43 days to isolate
the California field where the contaminated spinach, which had been sold under several labels, was grown.
Wallace points out that while StrataTrace is not designed to determine whether an item is contaminated, its technology would allow the source of a contaminated product to be identified
quickly.
"With StrataTrace we can trace a tainted product almost immediately back to the field where it was grown, even to the row on which it was grown. Theoretically, we can even identify who
picked it," she said. "I call it Meadow-to-Market Traceability' protection."
For processors and food packers, another significant benefit of StrataTrace is, because of its specificity and quickness, limiting the scope of any recall and limiting the spread of
food-borne outbreaks by identifying the problem quickly at the unit level.
LTS, Inc. is a privately held, female-owned and operated company located in Pensacola, Fla.
For more information about Label Technique Southeast, Inc. or StrataTrace, go online to www.labeltechnique.com or www.anticounterfeitlabeling.com, or www.stratatrace.com or call (850) 478-8801.
MEDIA ONLY: To contact Joan Wallace, owner and president of Label Technique Southeast, Inc. call (800) 476-1028 or (850) 478-8801 or email sjw @ labeltechnique.com.
About Label Technique Southeast, Inc.
For 30 years, LTS has been a dominant player in the labeling industry. With a customer base as diversified as Fortune 100 companies to the "little guy" down the street, LTS built their
reputation on excellent service. The new millennium brought a new direction and new opportunities. Technology-driven or "smart" labels are increasingly growing in demand. LTS has
responded accordingly. With the introduction of StrataTrace, these demands are met by LTS unlike any other company. With a multi-layered approach to authentication and traceability,
StrataTrace is exceeding industry expectations. Whether needs are authentication, brand protection, risk management, differentiation, time and temperature monitoring, product integrity or
traceability, LTS continues to outpace the competition.
By partnering with industry innovators, LTS has positioned StrataTrace to become the most-comprehensive yet affordable system available to today's brand owners. Most surprising to their
customer base is the flexibility of the program. Working with customers, LTS identifies problems or potential problems, reviews solutions and designs implementation schedules-within
budget. Each program is monitored for ROI and periodic follow-ups are strictly adhered to.
Label Technique Southeast, Inc. is a privately held, female-owned and operated company located in Pensacola, Fla. More information can be found at www.anticounterfeitlabeling.com or by calling (850) 478-8801.