Methods are provided for authenticating a container of items to be sent by a sender to a receiver. The method includes: packing a plurality of items, each having a respective item identifier, in the container; providing a container identifier on the container; and generating a first digital signature by signing a message, comprising the container identifier and each item identifier, using a secret signing key skS of a signing-verification key pair (skS, pkS) of a digital signature scheme. The method further comprises providing the first digital signature for access by the receiver, and sending the container to the receiver. A corresponding verification method comprises accessing the first digital signature, and verifying the first digital signature for the container identifier and the item identifier for each item in the container using the verification key pkS of the sender key pair (skS, pkS).