Harlow, UK; 30 March 2010

Avery Dennison, a recognised industry leader for innovative printing and identification solutions, is making it easier for the pharmaceutical industry to comply with new French traceability regulation.

From the 1st January 2011, the AFSSAPS (French Agency of Sanitary Safety and Health Products) will establish an improved coding standard for the French pharmaceutical market, based on Datamatrix barcoding. The new standard is designed to improve the traceability of medicines and ultimately increase consumer safety. Other European states, such as Germany, Spain and Italy, are looking to introduce similar regulations to improve consumer safety. 2D Datamatrix barcodes are able to store large amounts of information (upto 2,300 alphanumeric characters) on a small label. This makes it ideal for the small products and packaging often used for pharmaceuticals.

Avery Dennison offers complete solutions for meeting the new regulations, each suited to the individual pharmaceutical manufacturer's requirements and equipment. Avery Dennison can even provide options for existing labellers, compacted independent modules for manufacturers with no available floorspace for new printing hardware or the latest versions of Datamatrix systems.

Frédéric Lemaire, Southern Europe manager for Avery Dennison, says: “2010 will be a busy year in preparation for the new Datamatrix standard, both in France and internationally. At Avery Dennison, with our integrated solutions and trusted expertise, we are ready to help every stakeholder reach full compliance.”

Frédéric Lemaire, Southern Europe manager for Avery Dennison, says: “2010 will be a busy year in preparation for the new Datamatrix standard, both in France and internationally. At Avery Dennison, with our integrated solutions and trusted expertise, we are ready to help every stakeholder reach full compliance.”