Supply chain

Smart label developer Timestrip has produced a small, item-level, cost-effective label that changes colour if the temperature drops below a specific point.

When an iStrip goes below a certain temperature, it changes from red to colourless. The typical freeze point is 0°C, though it can be made with a freeze point to match that of the product it is applied to.

It consists of a liquid formulation encapsulated in a label or blister. Because the volume of liquid needed is very small, the indicator can be manufactured as a two-dimensional label, suitable for standard label application techniques.

The market for this technology includes live vaccines and biopharmaceuticals, which have to be transported and stored in temperatures ranging from 2°C to 7°C but are vulnerable to damage if the temperature drops below 0°C.

Until now, freeze indicators have been too expensive for individual applications and were mostly applied to whole cases only. This can be unreliable when refrigerated transport is replaced by the use of ice-packs, for example.