This is not the first time the team at Logistic Packaging touches on the topic of hygiene in the pharma industry – and it probably won’t be the last time, either. Except maybe for the food industry, there is no other field of activity where perfect cleanliness is so important. Pharmaceutical products are extremely sensitive, some of them to temperature changes, but all of them to contamination. The delicate balance of active ingredients in solid and liquid pharma products can be easily disturbed even by a speck of dust.
Why Reusable Packaging for Pharma Industry Fail to Keep Products Safe
With special ranges of reusable packaging materials such as nestable containers with seals on the lid and thermo-insulating inserts readily available to pharma manufacturers and distributors, it would appear that the problem of hygiene is solved. However, every year, the pharma industry continues to report losses in the form of damaged products which had to be destroyed.
Why does this issue still persist? As incredible as it may seem, the root of the problem lies in a small but significant accessory: the label placed on the container to identify its contents. Many pharma distributors still use regular self-adhesive labels which are placed directly on the container.
Removing Labels – Not as Simple as It Seems
Once the delivery is made and the pharma container is returned empty, the label is peeled off and the container is ready for another delivery. Or, is it really ready? Self-adhesive labels leave a sticky trace of the adhesive substance on the outer wall of the container. Everyone who tried removing such a label from a plastic, glass or even metal surface knows this. The gummy adhesive sticks to the surface and becomes an instant magnet for dust and particles of dirt.
While in other industry this may not be a huge problem (although it should be considered a problem), for the pharma industry it is absolutely unacceptable. The dirt accumulating on the surface of the container can easily contaminate primary packages for drugs and vaccines. And once dirt has found its way on the primary packages, the product may not be considered safe for use anymore.
The Solution: Placard Label Holders
How does the pharma industry deal with problem, then? With the help of packaging professionals like Logistic Packaging, pharma companies have found a simple and cost effective solution: Placard label holders.
What is this accessory and how does it work? To answer the second part of the question, we invite you to watch this short video:
Now, let us give you some explanations for what you’ve watched. Placard label holders are made of a special, embossed material. This material offers adequate adherence to labels when they are affixed on it. At the same time, the texture of the material creates minimal contact with the surface of the label.
Thus, once the labels are removed, no trace of the adhesive substance is left on the Placard label holders. You can apply and remove labels for hundreds and thousands of times, and the surface will still be smooth, clean and easy to sanitize.
An Innovative Packaging Accessory for Long Term Use
Placard label holders are silicone free, thus they do not deteriorate over a long period of use and cleaning. The special material these label holders are made of is resistant to most chemicals and can withstand many cycles of washing, temperature variations and even extreme weather condition.
At the same time, Placard label holders are provided with a heavy-duty adhesive surface to ensure that they do not fall off the container they are affixed on. All these characteristics make this label holder the ideal choice not just for the pharma industry but for any company that distributes merchandize on short or long distances.
Logistic Packaging can offer your company expert advice on reusable packaging materials and the best options for maintaining your packages clean and hygienic with a full range of Placard label holders in custom sizes to fit your containers. Send us a quotation request by email or schedule a live Skype chat with our packaging specialists.