Coles labelling fresh produce requirements app

Coles labels automatically generated

View Traceability App Specifications.

Farmsoft supports easy and rapid generation of Coles compliant fresh produce labels for packers of fruit & vegetables, and food service companies.  

All Farmsoft Coles labels conform to Coles Supply Standards, and have passed rigorous testing in our labs to ensure 100% compliance and peace of mind.

Coles labelling fresh produce traceability

Food label information that is otherwise mandatory for physical products is missing from online supermarkets in Australia, which may pose a health and safety risk for consumers, a new study suggests.

Analysis of more than 22,000 products from the online stores of the two leading supermarket retailers, Coles and Woolworths, found almost all lack at least some crucial product information, including ingredient lists and allergy warnings. The study, published today in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, opens in a new window, is the first to assess the completeness of food labelling in online supermarkets in Australia, and highlights the need for current regulations to include these settings so online shoppers can make informed choices.

Food product labels are required for product packaging in physical stores. Nutrition information panels (NIPs), ingredient lists and allergen declarations are requirements under Food Standards Australia New Zealand, while the ACCC also requires country-of-origin labelling. Health Star Ratings (HSRs), which aim to provide a quick and easy summary of product healthiness, can also be voluntarily displayed. However, online stores are not explicitly obligated to meet any labelling standards despite considerable growth in the market.

Coles labelling fresh produce packing

TU/Carton Barcoding
Each retailer heavily utilises the GTIN barcoding of Trade Units to identify products at receiving, and at various points through the supply chain (including high-speed scan sortation where the GTIN barcode is the key identifier directing the right product to the right store).

Accordingly, all three retailers have the following expectations for Trade Unit barcoding:

1. Adherence to GS1 Trade Unit numbering and barcoding specifications is critical

2. For Trade Units utilising Print-and-Apply labels, GTIN barcodes must appear
on at least two vertical sides of the trade unit - preferably adjacent sides

3. For Pre-Printed trade units (where the barcodes are embedded into the artwork and pre-printed
onto the flat carton) all retailers require GTIN barcodes on at least four (4) vertical sides of the trade
unit. Further, retailers ask that the pre-printed barcodes be added to all six faces of the carton
where practical, as this will support scanning regardless of the carton orientation (and doesn’t involve additional cost, unlike print-and-apply labelling).