HK1092568B - Marking system and method to facilitate the identification, authentication and quality control of packaged products - Google Patents

Description

Marking system and method for identification, verification and quality monitoring of packaged products

(1) Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a marking system and method for facilitating identification, verification and quality control of packaged products, particularly, but not exclusively, of food, food products and other similar organic products of complex composition. The invention also relates to a packaged product bearing indicia for use in the system and/or according to the method.

The present invention relates to packaged products which are typically placed within packaging boxes (which term refers to any suitable type of container) at a production or distribution center for further shipment to a remote location for use, storage, consumption, sale, and the like.

(2) Background of the invention

It is generally desirable to be able to monitor and track products at various stages of the manufacturing or distribution process, as will be readily appreciated, particularly where the packaged product is a food or food product, other product intended for human or animal consumption, or other product for which the chemical composition and/or transport/storage conditions are highly closely monitored.

For some applications, it may be sufficient, for example, to identify the product from the packaging or accompanying documentation, and to give relevant instructions as to the requirements of storage, transport, time to degradation or shelf life. FR 2787220 discloses a more conventional system in which an identification tag is applied to the product packaging, the identification tag including details relating to environmental transport or storage parameters, and its sensors, and being capable of identifying when the product is in unsatisfactory conditions. However, even such systems do not directly monitor the status of the product itself. In order to achieve the above, there is a need for subsequent monitoring of the product, such as testing multiple samples in a batch of packaged products somewhere downstream of the distribution line.

This need is addressed for purposes such as verification purposes, such as verifying that a product is genuine (or at least has the quality of genuine, rather than counterfeit or counterfeit, in the case of products such as branded products, protected country of origin names, etc.); or quality control to ensure that the product meets the quality, safety or other component specification standards; or to check or detect whether the product is being incorporated into a secondary product, or to detect and monitor the degradation of quality of the product over time by ensuring that the ingredients remain within predetermined satisfactory ranges, or for various other purposes.

Various analytical techniques exist to determine the concentration of all chemical components and/or specific target chemicals in a product. Some representative samples taken from a batch of prepackaged products may be analyzed and then compared to reference standard or predetermined specification data or to data obtained from the batch prior to packaging. For the purposes discussed above, it is thereafter evaluated whether the sampled product composition meets these predetermined parameters. This requires careful documentation or other data records that are brought back to the point of packaging to ensure that subsequent batch sampling is consistent with the data associated with the product at the time of packaging, which can be tedious, inefficient, or slow for complex manufacturing and distribution networks.

It is generally desirable to provide a verification system for identifying, verifying and quality monitoring packaged products that can be accomplished by simply examining batches of packaged products themselves without such complex cross-referencing.

It is suggested that some documentation of tracking products can be reduced if the packaging is provided with content information. DE4436923 describes a system for the transport of large quantities of chemicals, in which the product is analysed at the point of manufacture or distribution, for example within a suitable degree of purity, and this information is encoded in a simple black and white bar code. The code is then encoded to give a verification system which provides the opportunity for customs sampling and further verification at the distribution point, thereby simplifying the transmission transaction. The bar code may also be used as a product identification code after the distribution point, for example to ensure that a large tanker transfers oil to a suitable large storage facility.

The above concept, which is well suited for large scale transportation and storage, provides a system that is primarily intended for use in environments where: i.e. it can be assumed that the product is of constant quality during storage or transport and that problems of disturbing the product in transport do not necessarily occur. A simple bar code is sufficient for such identification and verification, but provides only limited information about the product.

None of the prior art systems are suitable for packaging products in all aspects, such as quality degradation over time, quality control based on batch sampling, verification and safety warnings against damage, in particular this is the case: food, pharmaceutical or similar articles are transported in small packaging units, which are packaged and transported in bulk by individual packaging sites.

(3) Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system that facilitates identification, verification or quality monitoring of packaged products in a simple and self-contained manner. The method and system may reduce some or all of the disadvantages of the above-described systems. Accordingly, a first aspect of the present general inventive concept includes a method of facilitating identification, verification, or quality monitoring of a packaged product, the method comprising the steps of:

in a first marking stage:

obtaining analytical specification data representative of the chemical composition of the product;

processing said data and recording it on a machine-readable data storage device disposed in direct mechanical engagement with said packaged product; and

in a second verification phase:

placing a suitable data reader on the data storage device to read the recorded data and reconstruct the recorded analytical specification;

chemically analyzing a sample of said product to obtain analytical specification data representative of the actual chemical composition of said product;

comparing the analysis result with the recorded reading within a predetermined allowable range.

By such a comparison, an assessment can be made of the measured analytical data of a sample taken from the packaged product, based on reference data included in, on or directly in connection with the package. The reference data represents at least the analytical specification of the predetermined desired composition of the product, which is recorded directly in connection with the packaging during the packaging, whereby the comparison with the subsequent measurement analytical specification is possible. This makes it unnecessary to refer back to other information sources in any way. A quick assessment of whether the composition of the packaged product is within predetermined tolerances, such as checking its authenticity, checking its quality, ensuring it is not adulterated or otherwise degraded, etc., can be made with reference only to the packaged product itself. The invention therefore makes it possible to provide a simple, rapid and automatic screening system for products.

The key to the invention is that the items recorded during the marking stage contain substantially all of the analytical specification and are then recorded on the packaging in such a way that they can be reconstructed during the verification stage. The analytical specification does not constitute solely selective, e.g., data points associated with peaks of analytical properties. Rather, analytical techniques are used to obtain intensity data that varies across the spectrum or other range, where the intensity distribution is characteristic of the chemical composition of the product. The present invention refers to the recording of such an analytical specification, by recording is meant the recording of distribution intensity data over a range, not just data relating to specific characteristic peaks and the like.

The key to the present invention is the analysis specification recording of varying intensity information across the spectrum or other analysis range. By recording such specifications in a machine-readable manner on the package, analytical specifications representing the contents of the package can be reconstructed at the remote end, simply from the records on the package. Within predetermined tolerances, comparison with corresponding analytical specifications (derived using the same technique or by using other techniques and making appropriate transformations to facilitate comparison) may be performed to compare actual and expected compositions, assess authenticity, monitor degradation, and the like.

The machine-readable log data includes a reading of the expected results for the subsequent chemical analysis step. If the expected result and the detection result of the subsequently extracted sample are within the preset allowable range, the batch of detected products is qualified. If the comparison shows that the test results are outside the allowable range, the batch is rejected and/or proceeds to more detailed analysis or other further processing.

Obviously, the reference data can be obtained in a number of ways. The reference data may represent an established composition or specification. The reference data may comprise ingredient information obtained from periodic inspection of the product to be packaged. This may be an irregular typical test or a specific test per batch, so that the recorded reference data corresponds to the analytical specification of the product in the specific package. The reference data may include a combination of the foregoing information. The reference data includes at least one of said analytical specifications representing a predetermined target component which can be reconstructed for comparison with said derived subsequently detected analytical specification and may also include further information.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the reference data is obtained by examining a sample of the respective product or batch of products at the time of packaging. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the marking phase of the method is adjusted to comprise a step of analyzing a sample of the product before or during packaging, with the aim of obtaining at least representative reference data of analytical specifications of the sampled composition and therefore representative of the predetermined required chemical composition of the batch of products, and a step of processing this data and recording it on a readable data storage device mechanically arranged directly on each product or on a unit of the batch of products. In other words, the package is marked with a predetermined desired chemical composition based on a particular sampling of the actual chemical composition of the product, or a sample of the product at the time of packaging and analytical specifications made therefrom.

It will thus be seen that the verification stage of the method is preferably adapted to include repeating the chemical analysis steps of the marking stage described above to obtain data representative of the analytical specification of the actual chemical composition of the product. The comparison step then comprises reading and reconstructing a first analytical specification, corresponding to the one measured by sampling at the time of packaging and to the target specification, and comparing it, within a predetermined tolerance range, with a second measured specification at the time of inspection.

It will be appreciated that the overall method includes a marking phase and a verification phase, which may be performed remotely in time and space from each other, independently of each other. Accordingly, another aspect of the present invention includes a marking method that facilitates identification, verification or quality monitoring of packaged products. A further aspect comprises a method of verification of identification, verification or quality monitoring of a packaged product marked according to the above method. Aspects of the invention include a marking stage and a verification stage that are performed independently of one another as described above.

The analytical method may comprise any known chemical analytical method suitable for obtaining data representative of the composition of the target product or aspects thereof. Particularly preferred are analytical methods which result in a product which is easy to handle and can be stored in a form suitable for reconstitution. The analysis method is preferably repeatable and independent of the test environment to ensure consistency of test results regardless of where the test is performed, thereby ensuring accuracy of comparison of test analysis data with recorded reference data when different remote end analysis steps are performed by different users.

It will be appreciated that an essential feature of the analysis method is that it gives a two-dimensional data response in the sense that the variable intensity data can be referenced according to a range of values of the detection parameter. It is this two-dimensional specification that is recorded on the package and later reconstructed for the comparison phase. It will of course be understood that reference to reconstructing the specification does not imply that any actual physical reconstruction of the specification representation is required, but merely that data is available through a data reader, for example by suitable comparison software, to be compared with a corresponding measured specification at the detection stage.

In a preferred embodiment, the analysis method comprises a method of obtaining a spectrum representative of the chemical composition of the product, wherein the intensity data varies over a range of frequencies.

In a preferred embodiment, the analyzing step uses nuclear magnetic resonance for analysis during the verification stage. More preferably, nuclear magnetic resonance is also used in the labeling stage to provide sample analysis to establish reference data. However, it is to be understood that any other suitable technique is contemplated which produces the necessary spectra of quantifiable and variable intensity data functionally related to compositional data, including, but not limited to, mass spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy, and the like.

The invention relies on the creation of reference data which is recorded directly on the package in machine readable form. Furthermore, the reference data is not merely a limited set of discrete items of characteristic data in any arbitrary form. Rather, the reference data includes data from which a substantial analytical specification can be reconstructed, for example in the form of an analytical spectrum or other range spectrum with variable intensity information. In the present invention, the reference data includes at least one such two-dimensional analysis specification plotted with intensity data.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the reference data is obtained by batch analysis of the product to be packaged, for example before or during manufacture or otherwise packaging. The reference data may optionally further include other components or other data derived from standards, reference specifications, predetermined tolerance parameters, and the like.

Reference data derived by the analysis step and/or obtained from other reference or specification sources is collected and processed to convert the initial chemical composition data into a recordable, readable and processable format. This includes at least the conversion of the analytical specification as defined above into a recordable, readable and processable format.

In particular, this stage can be carried out under the control of suitable computer software, or a suitably programmed computer, for example comprising the following steps: collecting raw analytical data and/or reference data derived from reference or specification resources, digitising the data, passing the digitised data to the input of a suitable data processor, processing said data and outputting the processed data, the data being in a format suitable for recording on a data storage device and/or suitable for providing a set of instructions to the data storage device assembly such that the data is readable thereon.

The data storage device serves as a record of reference data. It provides a machine-readable digital data source directly associated with the packaged product to avoid the need for extensive documentation and to ensure that a simple detection and screening process can be carried out, with reference only to the packaged product and without reference to an external source of information.

A class of potentially suitable data storage devices include optically, electrically, magnetically readable devices and/or regions on or as part of the packaging. Suitable reference data storage means may include magnetic strips, smart chips and the like and optically readable areas, particularly optical areas comprising one or two dimensional alternating light and dark marks and/or color and/or gray shading marks in preferred embodiments, such as bar codes and the like.

The present invention does not relate to the precise details of a data storage system which requires primarily the ability to store analytical specifications as defined in the previous form, even if the specifications can be reconstructed at a later stage of detection, whilst having sufficient resolution to allow effective comparison. The data storage device may store the analytical specification in any suitable readable form, either in analog or digital form, for overall resolution requirements.

For many applications, optically readable indicia, such as bar codes, are preferred. Bar codes and bar code readers are well known for packaging food and similar products, and may facilitate the use of the present system. However, conventional bar code readers primarily use a simple black and white alternating optical code system. Such a system can store simple compositional data, such as data relating to certain compositional parameters, or data relating to a small number of preselected peak intensities across an analysis spectrum, but is not suitable for recording fully reproducible analytical specifications, which is the essence of the present invention. Thus, an optically readable mark, such as a bar code used in the present invention, is preferably a scale mark in which data is stored not only by the presence or absence of a mark within a predetermined range within the mark, but also by location and by intensity, shade, hue, color, tint, etc. In particular, the indicia is an optically readable gray scale indicia wherein the intensity of the gray shade also carries information.

The label is particularly suitable for representing an analytical specification as defined in the present invention. The analytical specification includes intensity data mapped across the detection range, such as intensity spectra plotted against frequency. The analytical specification is easily converted to a simple linear optical marker, for example, where the position on the marker corresponds functionally to frequency, and where the intensity, shade, hue, color, hue, etc. at that position corresponds functionally to the intensity at that position in the frequency range. For preferred analytical methods using NMR spectra, the data is particularly efficiently converted to a straight-line grey-scale labeled barcode, which is therefore particularly preferred.

A single linear bar code or other optically readable structure may be used. In addition, multiple bar codes or other structures may be provided, such as measuring different components and/or expected components over time during storage and displaying shelf life. More complex optically readable structures may be considered, for example, comprising various sub-structures and/or having two-dimensional content to give more information.

The reference data is stored in the data storage means in a directly readable form or in an encrypted form or in another secure form.

In the authentication phase, the reference data is read by a suitable reader, which may include a magnetic stripe scanner, a smart chip reader, an optical data reader, such as a bar code reader, etc., depending on the data storage device. As previously mentioned, optical readers such as barcodes are preferred because of their simplicity and efficiency and are a common system for this type of packaged product. However, it will be appreciated that simple black and white bar codes are not suitable for use in the present invention and that the preferred graduated scale bar codes require appropriate modification of the reader.

The analysis step then uses appropriate chemical analysis methods, such as NMR, to arrive at a determined analytical specification. Reference data has been established in relation to the present analysis procedure, and in particular by previously performing an equivalent analysis procedure on a sample of packaged product to arrive at an equivalent analytical specification. The analysis results are then compared to predetermined reference data specifications within predetermined tolerance limits. This comparison step is carried out automatically, in particular by the analysis system, for example by transmitting the analysis data of the measured specifications to a comparator, usually comprising a suitably programmed computer processor, which reconstructs the reference specifications for comparison and outputs the result in an operator-readable form. In an optional next step, the result is displayed, for example by means of an optical and/or audio-visual display device.

The comparison is made within predetermined tolerance limits, for example to judge quality or acceptability by pass/fail. These tolerance limits may be stored as part of the reference data, may be pre-recorded in the comparator, may be input or applied by the user during the comparison stage. In addition to the reference analytical specification, the reference data may include a range of tolerances and/or a number of ranges of reference components corresponding, for example, to different degrees of degradation of the product quality, such that the system may give a shelf life or similar indication.

According to another aspect of the invention, a system for identification, verification and quality monitoring of packaged products comprises:

a machine-readable data storage device provided in connection with the packaged product, in particular in direct mechanical connection with the packaged product, for example incorporated in, on or as part of the package;

a plurality of marking devices for processing data representative of analytical specifications for chemical compositions of the product and recording the data in readable form on a data storage device;

a verification device including a suitable data reader for reading the data recorded in the data storage device and reconstructing the analytical specification;

a chemical analyzer for performing subsequent analysis on a product sample to obtain analytical specifications representative of the actual chemical composition of the product; and

a comparison means for comparing the analysis results with the recorded specifications within a predetermined tolerance range.

As previously mentioned, it will be appreciated that the marking and verification processes may be performed spatially and temporally remotely from each other, independently of each other. The invention therefore further comprises a marking system as described above for facilitating identification verification or quality monitoring of packaged products, and further comprises a verification system as described above for identifying, verifying or quality monitoring of packaged products marked as described above.

Preferably, the marking system is provided with analytical instrumentation to facilitate the same analysis as verified by the verification system, the product standard is analyzed to obtain the analytical specifications described before or during packaging, and the data processing means collects, processes and converts the data into usable reference marks by the marking system.

The verification system may optionally include a display device to display the results to the user. Alphanumeric displays, colored lights, sounds, alarms, etc., or any suitable combination thereof may be employed. Since the system is mainly used as a screen, it is sufficient that the display should be adapted to show one of a few pre-measured results, in particular a pass/fail result.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a marked packaged product for facilitating identification, verification and quality monitoring includes a product contained within a container in direct physical association with the container, and a machine-readable reference mark, such as on or as part of the package, carrying pre-recorded data including a re-establishable analytical specification indicative of an expected chemical composition of the product, and in particular, of a batch sample chemical composition associated with the product.

The invention is applicable to any product containing chemicals for which it may be desirable to track the composition and detect changes in the composition for any reason as described above, for example, to affect authenticity, maintenance of quality specifications, adulteration, degradation of quality over time, etc. The invention is particularly suitable for food, food products and the like. It is also applicable to other products, such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, with similar safety concerns for human or animal consumption or use. But also for other products such as fine chemicals and agrochemical liquids where similar quality monitoring and specification issues arise.

Reference herein to packaged products includes any product placed in a suitable container for distribution or storage or the like, including consumer products packaged in bottles, cartons, cans, packets, sachets and the like, and also includes packaged products packaged in the form of buckets, jars, boxes and the like for large scale storage or shipping.

In all cases, the present invention provides a convenient and efficient means for batch sampling and remote screening of distributed or stored packaged products by means of information stored directly on the packaged products without reference to any additional information sources.

(4) Description of the drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures 1 and 2, in which,

FIG. 1 shows an example of a bar code label suitable for incorporation on the packaging of packaged products to put the invention into practice; and

fig. 2 is a flow chart representing one embodiment of the method of the present invention when using the bar code label shown in fig. 1.

(5) Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Shown in FIG. 1 as formed¹D¹A grayscale projected NMR barcode of the H NMR spectrum. The shade of the color is directly proportional to the peak intensity of the NMR spectrum, and thus, by scanning the bar code, the NMR spectrum can be conveniently reconstructed. The NMR bar code represents the reference data for the product and is readily obtained by NMR analysis of a sample of the product prior to or at the time of packaging using conventional NMR instrumentation.

By incorporating the bar code as part of the package on the target product, such as a protected name of origin or a brand product, it is quite straightforward to identify what is in the package, given the same NMR spectrum defined by the bar code. This can be done using conventional NMR instruments, for example at the remote end, by repeated NMR analysis of a sample of the packaged product.

The actual results are compared with the predetermined results provided by the bar code directly on the product to ensure that the comparison is within reasonable tolerances. It is possible to check, simply and quickly, without the need for additional reference, for example, that this is an original product (at least of constant quality), to ensure that the product meets quality, safety or other ingredient specifications, or to check and test whether the product is adulterated.

Another possible application is to determine the age of a product. Multiple NMR spectra of perishable products can be easily stored in bar codes of similar depth as described above. The approximate age of the product can be estimated by comparing the information on the product in the package to the expected graph of the particular product.

Figure 2 shows a possible embodiment of a method in more detail. Shown is a flow chart of a method required to implement an embodiment of the present invention.

The process for a particular product from the initial state is shown on the left side of fig. 2. Initial batch sampling involves taking aliquots of the product directly from the production line before packaging the product. The aliquots are taken sufficiently to reflect the inherent range of variation in the product chemistry specification. This can be determined by a preliminary homogeneity test of the batch process to ensure that the specifications derived from a particular product are fully representative of the truth table under test.

The product was then subjected to chemical analysis. In the example shown in FIG. 2, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to derive the chemical specification. The chemical specification of a product is defined by the compositional characteristics of the product, for which a specification, such as the concentration of chemicals in the product, should be determined. Furthermore, the chemical specification will be converted to a mechanically readable format. The embodiment shown in fig. 2 is a gray scale bar code as shown in fig. 1. A quadratic function calculation is used in which the shadow at a single location within the bar code is calculated from the intensity of the data representing the analytical specification. This example clearly reveals the relationship between the NMR spectral intensity and the shade of the bar code. Stronger NMR is indicated by light shading or white, while lower intensity NMR is indicated by dark grey or black. The quadratic function used to accurately calculate the bar code shading is determined and the contrast is better given the range of intensities represented by the NMR data.

Once the machine-readable product specification (e.g., barcode) is established, it is incorporated into the product packaging. Positioned so that the position cannot be changed without evidence of tampering (e.g., on the reverse side of the product label) and where the product is accessible without removal from the package. The product may be packaged and distributed in the usual manner.

The second stage of the method described below will be performed after the product is delivered from the initial state, as shown on the right side of fig. 2. The second stage of the method aims at determining whether the product has reached the specifications set in the initial state. Reasons for failing to meet the above specifications may include replacing a product with inferior products and duplicates of the original packaging material, or mishandling resulting in shortened product life. The entire packaged product may be initially retrieved from a retail store, warehouse, or shipment. And then correcting the technical specification of the product from the package by adopting an automatic data reading device. The apparatus converts the product specification stored on the product package into a format that enables the original chemical specification of the product determined in the initial state to be reconstructed. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, an optical reader, such as an infrared scanner, may be used to electronically reconstruct the bar code on the product.

Once the product specifications are read from the package, the initial chemical specifications (e.g., NMR data) can be reconstructed by applying an inverse quadratic function to convert it into machine readable data in a machine readable format.

The product is then removed from the package. Aliquots were removed and subjected to the same analysis as when the product was initially packaged. The data from this analysis is compared to the data from the package. Suitable mathematical operations (e.g., pearson correlation coefficients) are employed to derive a similarity value, thereby determining the likelihood that the product in the package will meet the specifications set by the package. Using the predetermined limits of acceptance or rejection, the product is accepted when it reaches the specification defined by the initial state and rejected when it does not.

Claims (23)

1. A method of facilitating verification and quality monitoring of packaged products, the method comprising:

in a first marking stage:

obtaining analytical specification data representative of the chemical composition of the product;

processing said data and recording it on a machine-readable data storage device disposed in direct mechanical engagement with said packaged product; and

in a second verification phase:

placing a suitable data reader on the data storage device to read the recorded data and reconstruct the recorded analytical specification;

chemically analyzing a sample of said product to obtain analytical specification data representative of the actual chemical composition of said product;

comparing the analysis result with the recorded reading within a predetermined allowable range.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data storage device is incorporated on a package.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data storage device is part of a package.

4. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the analytical specification comprises a two-dimensional range chart of test parameters over a range of values with reference to variable intensity information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the analytical specification comprises an analytical profile referencing variable intensity information over a range of frequencies.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the analytical specification is generated by an analytical method comprising a method of obtaining a map representing the chemical composition of the product, wherein the intensity data varies over a range of frequencies.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein an analytical profile is generated by nuclear magnetic resonance.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a reference analytical specification is generated using the same analytical method to create reference data during the marking phase and a test analytical specification is generated during the verification phase, the reference data further including additional component data derived from the standard, the reference specification and the predetermined allowable parameters.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the analysis profile is obtained by batch analysis of the product to be packaged prior to packaging.

10. A method according to claim 7, wherein the analysis profile is obtained by batch analysis of the product to be packaged in production.

11. A method according to claim 7, wherein the analysis profile is obtained by examining a representative sample of each product or batch of products during packaging, such that the labelling stage of the method comprises the steps of analysing at least one analytical specification for a representative sample composition and data representing a predetermined desired chemical composition of a representative sample of each product or batch of products during packaging, and processing the data and recording the processed data on a machine readable data storage device provided in direct mechanical engagement with a representative sample of each product or batch of products.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein the data storage device comprises an optically readable device and/or area on the package.

13. The method of claim 4, wherein the data storage device comprises an optically readable device and/or area as part of a package.

14. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the data storage means comprises an electrically readable device and/or area on the packaging.

15. A method according to claim 4, wherein the data storage means comprises an electrically readable device and/or area as part of the packaging.

16. The method of claim 4, wherein the data storage device comprises a magnetically readable device and/or region on a package.

17. The method of claim 4, wherein the data storage device comprises a magnetically readable device and/or region as part of a package.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the data storage device includes an optically readable area having a graduated scale such that data in the data storage device is stored by the position of a readable cursor, and by shading, color, tint, hue.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the analytical specification comprises intensity data transformed within a measured analytical range and is recorded such that the position of the cursor corresponds to the analytical range, wherein shading, color, hue corresponds to intensity.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the data storage device comprises optically readable gray scale markings.

21. A system for verification and quality monitoring of packaged products, said system comprising a marking system and a verification system,

wherein said marking system comprises:

a machine readable data storage device disposed in direct mechanical engagement with said packaged product; and

a marking device for processing data representative of analytical specifications for chemical compositions of the product and recording the processed data in readable form on said machine readable data storage device;

wherein the authentication system comprises:

a verification device including a suitable data reader to read data recorded on said machine-readable data storage device and to reconstruct an analytical specification; and

a chemical analyzer for performing a subsequent analysis of a product sample to obtain data representative of the actual chemical composition of the product; and

a comparison means for comparing the analysis results with the recorded specifications within predetermined tolerance limits.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the marking system is coupled to the chemical analyzer to perform the same analysis as the analysis performed by the verification system to analyze a sample of the product to obtain an analytical specification prior to or in the package, the marking system further comprising data processing means to collect and process the data and convert the processed data into a usable reference mark by the marking system.

23. A system according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the verification system comprises a display device for displaying the results to the user.