Kellogg's trials code for the visually impaired

Kellogg’s is to add a code to the packaging of its breakfast cereals, which will inform blind and visually impaired people about the composition of the products using voice technology.

Small fonts

The new code was developed by NaviLens from Spain, where the technology is already in use on public transport, for example. Kellogg’s is the first food manufacturer to be using it. “There is a lot of information to be included on packaging. Often even in several languages. This means that everything is written in a small font, which does not make it easy to read. For visually impaired people, it is often even impossible”, general manager Luc Houben of Kellogg’s Benelux says in Belgian newspaper De Morgen.

The code resembles a traditional QR code, but can be scanned with a smartphone from a greater distance. The information is then read out using speech technology, so blind and visually impaired people can receive information on the composition of the product and the possible presence of allergens during shopping.

Next year, Special-K will be the first product to carry the code, followed by the rest of the range. Noëlla Jardin of the Braille League welcomes Kellogg’s initiative: “Visually impaired people want to be able to shop as independently as possible. Moreover, our society is getting older. Many people notice that their sight is deteriorating, but they are too old to learn Braille, for example. With NaviLens, they can get help.”