Clear lessons

Marking and traceability have recently been in the news with the recall of millions of

's Chinese-made toys, some containing hazardous small, powerful magnets and others containing excessive levels of lead paint. If all the toys cannot be traced the legal costs could be astronomical, and the company's reputation would be further damaged.

The giant

chain has also had to recall sets of Chinese-made crayons and paints because the packaging of the wooden boxes contained lead. And the Chinese themselves have discovered microscopic nematode worms in packaging of goods from the US as well as 'sub-standard' vitamin and fish oils.

It's not just toys though. Bags of spinach from California were recalled when it was discovered that some batches contained traces of salmonella.

Clear marking is obviously a key requisite of modern day food distribution systems and EU regulations have been in force from 2006 to ensure this. According to Nadine Hansen of