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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."
I can't wait til they're required by law to give us all the nutritional information of every piece of fruit, down to the calorie count and the chemical breakdown. Perhaps government will put missing persons reports on them, or government mandated reminders of what it means to be a good citizen! So many useful applications!
I can wait.
While factory food is standard, and large processes and labs are well equipped to measure all you want to know - each batch of fruit has a different nutritional value. A little more sun can do a lot. There is a wide variation in the amount of vitamins in apples.
The costs associated with all the measurements of what you propose are immense.
Also, fruits have very few (none) added sugars or added other components... and there is no trickery.
Just remember: fruit is healthy. It never hurts to eat it. Why have a label if this is true anyway?