Since the health instructions linked to the coronavirus epidemic, certain goods in Europe are no longer transported normally, posing problems for essential sectors such as food and pharmaceuticals. And waiting times sometimes exceed 24 hours, even for medical supplies, says the EU.
Essential packaging for the food, pharmaceutical and health sectors
"Drivers look at the contents of the boxes, their destinations and can refuse transport. This raises questions about certain goods: what has priority, what doesn't pas??" deplores Pierre Forcade, General Delegate of the National Union of Adhesive Label Manufacturers (UNFEA). And a lot of packaging was thus being turned away. "Yet packaging and labels are indispensable for the pharmaceutical and food industries. Bottles of hydroalcoholic gels, for example, need a label for identification."
Now, a label stuck on the pallets and translated into several languages makes it possible to fight against this refusal to transport packaging. "It is intended for the packaging and labelling industry to identify goods in sectors under stress, i.e. packaging related to pharmaceuticals, food products and industries that manufacture sanitary cleaning products" explains Pierre Forcade.
ECMA and Finat at the origin of this document
"This pallet label is the result of the work of the ECMA federations (the European Paperboard Manufacturers Association, Editor's note) and Finat (the European Association of the Self-adhesive Label Industry, Editor's note). It has been validated by all the other federations in the sector".
An effective and non-abusive label
Transporters in Europe have been warned by the federations that this is the reference label for large packages. "And we no longer have any feedback from our members, who have been using it since Wednesday, or any refusal of transport. On our side, everyone is playing the game, there is no abuse." assures Pierre Forcade.
Printed in A4 on 80g/m² paper 2 or on pallet adhesive paper, the label available in PDF format on the UNFEA website is to be stuck on the vertical sides of the pallets. Some label manufacturers make it available to suppliers who do not have the capacity to print labels. "It's the whole UNFEA network cooperating!"
