Track-And-Trace

The number of levels at which authentication, tamper-evident, and track-and-trace elements can be added to products has grown exponentially. The three major areas of focus are devices for visual authentication (with the naked eye, or with a scanner of some kind); secure tracking systems (creating a continuum through the supply and distribution chain); and technologies that are difficult, or impossible, to replicate, to foil the counterfeiters. Such devices may be overt or covert, to provide the broadest possible umbrella of protection for everything from ethical pharmaceuticals and medical devices to legal documents, designer handbags, prepared foods, and computer software.