Low-Energy Laser Etching May Replace Fruit Labels

MikeChino writes "How many times have you bit into a piece of fruit only to find that you're also chomping on a sticker label? The small sticky labels have long been the bane of waste-conscious fruit and vegetable eaters, but that might all change thanks to new technology that uses a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam to etch information directly onto produce. No more peeling those annoying labels! So far the technology is being used on a number of fruits and vegetables in New Zealand, Australia, and Pacific Rim countries, and it's currently going through the final stages of review by the FDA. Once the technology is approved in the US, researchers from the University of Florida and the USDA Agricultural Research Service hope that it will be used in Florida's massive grapefruit industry."

Comments

Re:What does this do, chemically?

[Atraxen]

A CO2 laser has a wavelength of 10600 nm (i.e. pretty deep into the infrared). I'm not seeing any specific reactions or chemical absorbers in the literature on a quick check, nor would I expect to - a single photon of 10600 nm light contains far too little energy to break any bonds. Instead, when the photon is absorbed it makes the molecule vibrate a little, and the kinetic energy is transferred to the surrounding water (or other) molecules as heat energy. This is where the misconception stems from that IR = heat; heat results when the photon of IR light is absorbed, but a photon is a photon is a photon... Basically, the color change is going to be a burn pattern, so there's nothing to fear from it over and above any concern you'd have for cooked fruits (e.g. pie filling).

Re:Lecture Fruit!

[TheLink]

> Just remember: fruit is healthy. It never hurts to eat it. Why have a label if this is true anyway?

Because it isn't true.

There are very many fruits in the world that are eaten by humans. They can be very different in their effects.

Many fruits contain lots of sugar. That's not good for diabetics.
Some fruits have very high potassium levels - this is normally good for people with high blood pressure, but bad for people with very bad kidney problems.
There's a fruit called Ackee that can give you hypoglycemia or even kill you if not ripe or not prepared correctly. But apparently it's popular with Jamaicans.
Grapefruit interacts with many drugs - it can make many drugs way more effective than expected.
Starfruit (carambola) has significant amounts of oxalic acid which can give kidney patients problems.

And there are still very many fruits which while might be commonly eaten have not had much research done on them on their health effects and nutritional values.

Lastly, I wonder how the laser etching would look like on a whole durian or a rambutan ;).