The Information Technology, Electronics and Communications Department of the Indian state of Telangana has implemented a pilot project for using RFID tags or QR code-enabled systems to track the inventory of gunny (burlap) sacks used for supplying food grain under the state Public Distribution System.

Nitches Inc, a designer and manufacturer of high-end clothing and accessories, has announced the launch of its patent-pending Owner Verification System (OVS) to prove the authenticity of its exclusive capsule collections created with celebrities and influencers.

Fluorescence – the phenomena where some materials emit radiation as a result of external stimuli – is usually a result, at least in the authentication industry, of visible light being emitted from incident radiation of a shorter wavelength.

Brand owners of mass-produced goods have for some time had access to a range of anti-counterfeit devices, such as holograms, security inks and nano-optic effects that provide clear visual signals of authenticity to consumers.

Part of any anti-illicit product strategy should ideally include measures to reduce consumer demand for illicit products in the first place. While such measures could include imposing penalties on consumers for buying illicit goods, Taiwan has gone in the opposite direction with a scheme that rewards consumers for buying genuine, compliant goods.

De La Rue’s Authentication division recently presented interesting developments in digital security printing and product traceability.

Over the last few years, I have been following a number of technologies to see how these may work together to create eye-catching security features. One good example of these is the use of arrays of micro-lenses to produce caustic surfaces. This is the topic of this article.

The increasing trend towards consolidation in the track and trace industry continues with the announcement that Movilitas has been acquired by Engineering USA, bolstering the group’s industrial digitisation division.

Each year, the authentication industry produces tens of millions of documents that require fast and reliable examination to confirm their authenticity. Doculus Lumus® is a mobile document checking device from charismaTec that was developed specifically for use in the often challenging environments of document checking for border management, law enforcement, security printing and banking.

Nanotech Security Corporation, now owned by Meta Materials Inc, is perhaps best known for designing, originating, recombining, and mass-producing nanotechnology-based films for securing documents of value against counterfeiting and tampering. But the Canada-based firm also offers a range of labelling solutions for advanced brand protection, to which it has now added a holographic version.