Anti-counterfeiting app gives Chinese consumers confidence in Australian milk

Norco has signed a three-year agreement with Authenticateit to safeguard against the counterfeiting of its milk products in China.

The front end of Authenticateit is a free smartphone app that provides consumers with a way to easily check the authenticity of Norco milk by scanning the product’s barcode. Consumers can also check that the product hasn’t been recalled; the app verifies this via a live integration with global product recall portals.

Language settings on the mobile phone are detected so the app can present all information in the user’s language.

Norco implemented the protection platform to comply with new food safety regulations that require exporters of food products to China to have a means of traceability and serialisation.

“GS1 Australia has been a key part of the development of brand protection platform Authenticateit. The solution adopts the GS1 numbering system with the application of the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) on GS1 DataMatrix. This offers a complete track and trace solution and product identifier for Norco milk products,” said Gennady Volchek, CEO at Authenticateit.

Authenticateit is fully compatible with GS1 global standards, including EPCIS, offering brand owners an effective way to track, trace and deter counterfeiters and instances of unauthorised distribution.

A successful trial shipment of fresh milk to China is expected to open the door to millions of litres of fresh milk exports to China each year. The new cold chain pipeline can deliver more than 20 million litres of fresh milk to Chinese consumers within the first 12 months of its operation.

The Authenticateit app is available to download for free from iTunes, Google Play and Chinese app store Zhushou.360, making it available to 700 million smartphone users in China.