US-based Zego has launched a range of energy snack bars with wrappers and boxes printed with a QR code that provides real-time data to enable consumers to check the potential allergen content in any bar’s specific batch.
When scanned, the patent-pending QR-code system provides test results from the bar’s batch, showing any measurable amounts of specific allergens.
As with most energy bars, Zegos are made in a shared facility, where cross contact with allergens is possible, despite careful control procedures being followed.
“The Zego QR code allows consumers to have better control over their food safety,” says Zego co-founder Colleen Kavanagh.
“For example, knowing a gluten-free product’s testing showed less than 2.5ppm gluten compared to the (US) FDA’s allowed 20ppm enables very sensitive people to make safer choices.”
This is even more important, Kavanagh adds, for those with peanut or dairy allergies, who may choose to eat foods with allergen disclaimers.
Zego’s sunflower seed-based bars are made without nuts, gluten, dairy and soy, and the company donates 20% of its profits to improve nutrition for low-income children in the US.
“Providing real-time data via a QR code not only informs and empowers purchasing choices, it also provides a mechanism for feedback, so consumers can tell manufacturers what matters most to them, and manufacturers can respond,” says Zego co-founder Jonathan Shambroom.
While sample testing is “not a safety guarantee”, Shambroom says, the company hopes to set an industry standard through its rigorous testing, transparency, and direct on-pack communication.
www.zegosnacks.com
