Perrigo Nutritionals, an American infant formula producer, has partnered with security systems integrator Tyco Integrated Security (TycoIS) to develop a theft-resistant infant formula container - SmarTub - for food retailer The Kroger.
SmarTub is designed to aid retailers in reducing the costs of theft associated with infant formula. It has invested $29m for the development of this new technology.
The container includes a Sensormatic Acousto-Magnetic Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) tag that alerts the retail store's staff of the theft when placed in an electromagnetic field.
Perrigo Nutritionals general manager Scott Jamison said: "Our team invested $29 million and three years of development work into this effort to better serve our customers, and the result is an innovative, theft-resistant package on the outside with the same trusted formula on the inside."
Tyco Integrated Security retail sales and operations vice president Mike Creedon said that this new packaging is designed to reduce shrinkage for retailers across the country that sell Perrigo baby formula.
"By tagging the product right at the point of manufacture, our customers can be sure their product is protected from step one," Creedon added.
The Kroger loss prevention corporate director Karl Langhorst said: "We have been attempting to have infant formula source tagged for many years and have finally demonstrated through the partnership we have with our private label brand that it can be done."
