Smart labels for water bottles from Sunday
Consumers will be able to check safety details of five-gallon containers via app on their smartphones
Beginning April 1, all fivegallon plastic water bottles will come with a smart label that will contain information on the status of the bottle such as whether it is within safe limits or needs to be discarded.
Dubai Municipality has made it mandatory for all plastic fivegallon water bottles to have a smart sticker for tracking purposes as part of the civic body’s smart control system.
Each bottle can be refilled up to a maximum of 33 times, as per municipality’s standards, to ensure the safety of the water in the container and the smart labelling system will ensure any violations are detected immediately.
“This system includes multiple features such as a unique laser code printing on each package as a “unique mark” that cannot be deleted or changed,” Dawood Al Hajiri, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, said.
“This label is equipped with digital technologies and secure features similar to those used to protect banknotes from forgery,” he added.
Khalid Sharif Al Awadi, Assistant Director-General for Environment, Health and Safety Control Sector, said the system of transparency safeguards consumers as they can check the details of their five-gallon bottles via an app on their phones.
The app, called Water SmarTrace, can be downloaded on Apple and Android systems.
“With this app, the consumer will be able to scan the smart sticker on the water bottle and obtain the required information on the product and packaging [and be assured] that it meets the approved standards. In addition, some package related data such as factory name, product brand, date and time of production will also be displayed,” he said.
Dubai consumers can now know if their five-gallon water bottles are within safe limits, or need to be discarded, thanks to the smart labels and tracking system that is now mandatory for all such bottles produced and sold in the emirate beginning on April 1.
Dubai Municipality has made it mandatory for all plastic fivegallon water bottles to have a smart sticker for tracking purposes as part of the civic body’s smart control system.
“This system includes multiple features such as a unique laser code printing on each package as a “unique mark” that cannot be deleted or changed. A smart sticker will be placed on the lid of each bottle each time it is packaged in the production line,” Dawood Al Hajiri, director-general of Dubai Municipality, said.
“This label is equipped with digital technologies and secure features similar to those used to protect banknotes from forgery,” he added.
Khalid Sharif Al Awadi, assistant director-general for Environment, Health and Safety Control Sector, said the system of transparency allows for consumers to protect themselves as they can check the details of their five-gallon bottles through their phones.
Only 33 refills
Each bottle can only be refilled up to a maximum of 33 times, as per the municipality’s safety standards, to ensure the safety of the water in the container.
Frequent usage and washing of plastic containers beyond the standard prescribed use may cause breakdown of the plastic material, especially if it’s being washed in high heat, according to research.
Al Awadi said consumers can download the app called “Water SmarTrace” on their smart phones run on Apple and Android operating systems.
“With this app, the consumer will be able to scan the smart sticker on the water package and obtain the required confidence in the product and packaging that it meets the approved standards. In addition, some package-related data such as factory name, product brand, date and time of production will be displayed,” he said.
If consumers spot a problem with the bottle, they can directly alert Dubai Municipality through the app.
“The consumer can also report about any product using this app, which provides a feature to determine the cause of the problem from a checklist, as well as the possibility of taking a picture of the container with the subject of the communication and location of the message instantly. This enhances the consumer’s role as an active partner in the control process,” Al Awadi said.
Monitoring
This technology will also facilitate and speed up current monitoring and inspection process. Inspectors will be given specialised inspection devices for use in product control along the production and distribution chain, which gives access to all detailed information related to the package.
He said the implementation was done with the participation of one of the world’s leading companies in the field of providing smart solutions for tracking and authentication, ensuring that goods and services conform to approved standards.