New Label Shows When Fruit Is Ripe

Dekaner writes "New Scientist has an article about a new 'smart' label developed in New Zealand changes color as fruit inside the package with it ripens. The label is designed to stop customers squeezing the fruit to tell if it is ripe enough to eat. The first packages to be tested contain pears, which need to be soft before they are eaten. If the labels prove effective with pears, the research institute in New Zealand will develop versions that work with kiwi fruit, avocados and melons."

Comments

hm...

[FinestLittleSpace]

this is actually a pretty wicked invention, but I don't always buy ripened fruit.... often i like to get slightly unripened fruit, or over ripe fruit.... so this is good for joe bloggs who wants to eat his/her fruit that day, but for people who like to span out food over a week, it lacks any real long term use.

perhaps...

[mOoZik]

So now instead of covering the fruits in wax or other substances to make them appear more attractive, they'll simply forge the labels to feign ripeness.

that's a good idea

[theMerovingian]

And not too hard to implement. You would need a substance that changes color in the presence of ethylene (the plant hormone that encourages ripening).

I am guessing that they are putting some chlorophyll (a simple sugar produced by most plants/green algae) onto a sticker. Ethylene causes the sugar to break down, changing chlorophyll (the reason plants are green) to some other simpler sugar (which would show a different color).