Food Giants To Adopt 'SmartLabel' Codes That Can Be Scanned For Nutrition, Allergen, And GMO Data

More than 30 of the country's biggest food and beverage producers — including ConAgra, the Campbell Soup Company, Nestlé, Hershey, the Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tyson, and Unilever — will be implementing the use of an advanced labeling code called SmartLabel, created to provide consumers with a wealth of product information.

Products equipped with SmartLabel, a QR code, will be able to scan the code using a search engine like Google or using a participating company's website. Slated for widespread availability by the end of 2017, the labels will be able to provide nutrition and ingredient information, allergens present, and whether those products contain genetically modified ingredients.

Eventually, consumers will able to scan SmartLabel codes through a dedicated app, and access coded product information at customer service desks at brick and mortar retailers.

"People's relationship with food has changed dramatically and consumers now want to know more about their food, such as where it came from and what went into making it," J.P. Bilbrey, president and CEO of the Hershey Company, said in a statement. "SmartLabel creates a way for consumers to get unprecedented access to information about what is in their food.  This is what real food transparency is about."