Complying with labeling requirements matters more than ever

It really does. 

According to a report, 33% of labeling errors on medicine caused severe fatalities. In the U.S, the FDA often recalls products that don’t comply with labeling requirements.   

It’s not just the responsibility of authorities but also of brands and manufacturers to always provide consumers safe and/or nutritious products. 

That’s where mandatory labeling requirements — especially for food product labels — come into play.

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Disclaimer: This blog post derives information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) website and is updated as of March 1st, 2024. Do refer to the FDA and FSSAI websites for final and updated information regarding regulations. Artwork Flow is a software designed to streamline compliance for brands, not a service providing legal or regulatory advice.

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Recent Changes in Labeling Requirements [2024]

In the U.S., the FDA routinely rolls out new labeling requirements for food packaging, cosmetics, drugs, and medical devices. Recently, they announced the inclusion of warnings on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for public safety.     

To curb the sale of counterfeit products, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (aka CDSCO) in India has issued healthcare brands to always apply QR codes even on the secondary and tertiary packaging. 

To encourage the promotion of local products, the Government of India has mandated that ‘Country of Origin’ needs to be listed while uploading products on any marketplace platform.    

Following Brexit, brands and manufacturers have to follow certain requirements regarding drinks and food labels. For products registered after January 1st, 2021, they have to use the new UK GI logos. Previously registered products have until January 4th, 2024 to update their packaging labeling to comply with the new requirements. 

With so many updates and looming deadlines, brands need to work fast and roll out revised labels and reach consumers in time. However, we can all agree that revising labeling artwork due to compliance updates is a long and tedious process. So, how can you smoothen the process with Label Management software?

How can Artwork Flow Help to Update Product Labeling 

Perhaps, you have received the recent revisions in labeling requirements and the deadline. To comply with them, you will need to update the product label and send it to your printer well in advance for manufacture. 

E.g, the requirement dictates the presence of a certain accreditation logo on the back of the pack labeling.

Here’s how Artwork Flow can help you do it faster and with accurate results:

•  Workflow - Project managers can choose from a workflow template or create a custom workflow. Add the different stages with deadlines. Such as two days for the designer to add the logo and share the file.   
  

• Checklists-based planning – Project managers can create checklists and assign them to collaborators. For instance, the legal team needs to check if the logo is in the right location and of the specified size.   

• Annotations – With this feature, collaborators can directly add comments to the artwork file and let the designer know whether the accreditation logo is incorrectly placed.  

• Digital Proofing – The suite includes proofing tools such as pdf compare, font finder, color picker, online ruler, and spell checker. In this instance, when the designer has shared a revised file, collaborators can compare two files and also ensure there are no typos in the nutrition labels in the case of food products. 

• Cloud Storage – The platform also offers version control, so you can store, view, and share the latest labeling artwork. Next time, you need to send the updated label to a printer in a different geography, then be sure to share the right file.  
  

Read how Teabox improved it’s artwork management processes. 

Final Thoughts

With stringent labeling requirements established for almost all industries, brands have to be quick to implement them. When importing or exporting, products need to comply with these requirements or bear recall costs and damage to brand reputation. 

Adopting Artwork Flow can smoothen out processes and decrease the product’s time-to-market. Teams will receive updated artwork files without errors and your next batch of products will comply with all the necessary labeling requirements. To learn more, book a chat with our team.