Track and Trace System in Packaging
Track and trace system is a process of determining the current and past history of products through their unique ID, or their properties. It helps the manufacturer to get information about. This system is very widely used in pharmaceutical industry also it's expanding in other sectors like Pesticide Industry, Food Industry, FMCG, etc.
Track system is simply to know about the current and past location of any serialized products.
Trace system is used to know the history of who comes into contact with the products along the supply chain.
Track and Trace system installed at the secondary packaging area where the bottle or carton is to be printed, aggregated, serialized, and palatalized.
Print Area: The print Area is the area where a bottle/ carton is printed along with B.no., Mfg. Date, Expiry date, serial number, and 2D code and forward the Printed products on a conveyor belt.
360° Inspection system: 360° inspection system consists of multiple cameras around the conveyor belt to check serial no., GTIN, and 2D code on printed products. It will automatically reject the defective products in the Rejection bin and passes the good products on the conveyor belt.
Server: The server stores the Inspection product’s information in real-time when the product is passed through the track and trace system.
Aggregation: Aggregation is the process of making a bundle. The bundle holding cartons/Bottles is again scanned manually through a barcode scanner.
Labeling: The machine automatically generates the label and fixes the label manually and automatically on the bundle.
Disaggregation: If any products are found defective during manual scanning, Later, the same carton or bottle is replaced with another good one.
Equipment used in track and trace system
· Printing machine (2D)
· Labeling machine
· 360° Cameras
· Bundler system
Track & Trace System Compliance Mandate in India :
1. Primary level packaging requirement : Incorporation of 2D barcodes on medicines at Stripe/ vial/bottle etc. encoding unique product identification code & unique serial number of the Primary pack.
2. Secondary level packaging requirement : Incorporation of barcodes (1D or 2D) encoding unique product identification code, batch number, Expiry date and unique serial number of the secondary pack.
3. Tertiary level Packaging requirement : Incorporation of barcodes
(1D) encoding unique product identification code, batch number, Expiry date and unique serial number of the tertiary pack (shipper/carton).
Under the track & trace system, manufacturers would be required to maintain a serialized record of exported pharmaceutical product for a minimum period of 6 months after the expiry date of the product.