The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports of The Netherlands (VWS) has given dispensation to the TTI indicator Keep-it® to replace date marking on poultry products.
“This dispensation represents a major break-through for time- and temperature indicators (TTI) and smart technology to be applied to food”, says CEO of Keep-it Technologies Kristen A. Hovland. The company want a change to the EU directives to allow dynamic shelf-life indicators, so-called TTIs, to be granted market access on equal terms and be allowed to replace static date marking. So far, the Norwegian based company has only been able to convince the Dutch authorities that softening the food labelling regulative is needed to release the food waste reduction potential of TTIs.
TTIs offer accurate information to consumers and retailers by showing actual shelf-life based on bacteria growth, the primary basis for assessing food safety. Retailers have reported food waste reduction of at least 20% and this has reached up to 59% (1) for meat products.
“The Dutch authorities have been both brave and future-thinking. Their decision tells us that they understand TTI will play a role in sustainable food chains and that new innovations must be given a chance to enter the market and prove their contribution”, says Hovland.
The regulative effectively stopping TTIs throughout EU is Regulative EU 1169/2011 and the Food Information to Consumers (FIC). It is currently up for revision by the European Commission and the company fears that the opportunity for game-changing innovations related to TTI technologies might be missed if it is not recognized in time by a European regulatory framework. “We are not against date stamping, and we are not seeking to replace “best before” or “use by”. We simply want to be able to replace a printed static date with a dynamic one”, says Hovland.
The Keep-it indicator shows the actual shelf life of fresh food, and helps you make smart choices every day. This is how.
