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Low-Energy Laser Etching May Replace Fruit Labels

Posted by samzenpus on from the tattooed-fruit dept.

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."

3 of 475 comments (clear)

  1. An answer in search for a problem? by anomnomnomymous · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "How many times have you bit into a piece of fruit only to find that you're also chomping on a sticker label?"

    Erm, never? Because I always wash my fruits (as in apples, pears) first before eating them?
    This is an answer in search of a problem: To be honest, I'd rather have a blemish-free apple, than one with carvings.

    --
    When you shoot a mime, do you use a silencer?
  2. Re:What does this do, chemically? by moosesocks · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This might be anecdotal, but I used to work for a big pharma company. We (or at least all of the people I encountered there) were terrified of the FDA.

    The FDA were reputed to be extremely thorough, and generally uncorruptable (the FDA is a sprawling bureaucracy, which though inefficient, seems to prevent any widespread corruption).

    The media might not have picked up on it, but the American pharma industry is hurting pretty badly right now, as many of the expected "blockbuster drugs" from the past few years didn't make it through the FDA's thorough approval process, while many of the existing big-profit drugs are about to lose their patents (which, in the US only takes about 7-12 years from the date of first sale).

    In America, you can create Mickey Mouse, and profit from your invention for a period of time double that of the average human lifespan. However, if you cure cancer, you've only got about a decade to reap the profits.

    I'm not going to apologize for all of the pharmaceutical industry's actions. However, it's very important to view behavior in the context of the regulatory environment in which they must exist.

    --
    -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
  3. Re:Wrong problem by Eponymous+Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'd also like to see where the fruit is from, possibly even identify the grower. There are three basic reasons:

    1. I prefer to buy stuff grown close to where I live. My grocery store will generally include the country of origin in the signage, but I really don't trust that they get that right.
    2. If there is some type of contamination problem, the CDC could more quickly track down the source and scope of the problem.
    3. I might discover that some growers produce better or worse food than others. The information could help me spend my food dollars more effectively.

    -ec