Did you know that we owe the creation of the product encoding industry to the infamous mastermind of the early 20th century, Al Capone? The expiration date on milk is Capone’s idea in an effort, as they say, to become an honest businessman.
Al Capone’s Motive
Al Capone, the number one public menace, decided that the production and expiration dates need to be displayed on packaging. This occurred when a member of his family suffered poisoning from spoiled milk, prompting him to create an entire industrial sector from scratch!
The infamous criminal discovered, after a brief investigation, that there were no controls in either the production or distribution processes. Thus, no one knew only by the smell whether the milk was fresh, its age, or if it had been adulterated.
The gap in market
Al Capone realized that there was a gap, and indeed a completely legal one in the market! So, the poisoning of his dear face gave him ideas to successfully expand his “activities.” This happened just as Prohibition was about to end soon, and his massive fleet of trucks should not remain unused.
Thus, Capone made two moves:
- He bought a dairy farm.
- In his characteristic way, he influenced the Chicago City Council to make a decision requiring milk to be mandatory in bottles and prominently display expiration dates.
His second move was the key to controlling the milk market in Chicago. Until then, the market was local, and distribution was handled by a local association.
However, Capone wanted to bring cheaper milk from Wisconsin, which meant that by the time it reached Chicago, it would have spoiled.
The only solution was to transport the milk with his own faster trucks. This way, Al Capone ensured a huge profit for himself.
The “negotiations” with both the Chicago City Council and the local association went smoothly, especially when its president was kidnapped for a ransom of $50,000. With this money, Al Capone placed the first orders for fresh milk with expiration dates on the bottle!
Three months later, Capone went to prison for tax evasion, but he had set a new standard. Since then, product encoding became necessary to ensure their quality.